Arkham Can Wait
by Foxotr
Summary: After all the chaos and mayhem he had caused in Gotham he thought that he'd be carted straight off to Arkham that night, but she had other plans for him. Arkham could wait.
1. Arkham Can Wait

He hung upside down by his foot from the Pruitt building. His purple coat, along with his greasy, green tinged hair flapped around his head in the dark night sky. He swung about laughing wildly. Laughing at the priceless look on the Batman's face when he told him what he'd done to Gotham's "White Knight." Laughing at all the chaos he had successfully caused in the city below him. Laughing at the horrible pain in his ankle that had the grappling rope attached to it that he was almost sure was broken, which only made him laugh harder. Laughing at the cuts the Batman's little shooting scallop blades had managed to slice into him when he'd fired them at him.

He watched the Batman disappear into the dark and laughed even more. How very _nice_ of the Bat to just leave him _hanging around_. He swung wildly back and forth waving his arms, enjoying the cool Gotham night air; breathing in the scent of fear and defeat below him. He felt himself being tugged down slowly by unseen hands. Of _course_ the Bat would have his little police and SWAT buddies cleaning up after his _mess_. He laughed a deep almost choking laugh just thinking about how they'd probably just cart him off to Arkham now. After all, that was the only logical thing to do with _psychos_ like him right?

The pathetic _morons_ of Gotham knew nothing. They'd all feel _safe and sound_ with him locked up tight in Arkham. They would all feel like the madness was gone because he was off the streets and they'd be able to breathe again, but they'd be _wrong_ wouldn't they? Madness never really went away. _Not here_. Locking him up would solve _nothing_ for them. It wouldn't make them any safer than they were now. It only meant that someone _else_ would have the chance to come out and play for a while.

The thought of going to Arkham didn't really bother him. He figured it would give him the chance to really _think_ while the narrow minded people of Gotham let themselves be lulled into a false sense of security. Plus, he had always liked a challenge. What better challenge was there after bringing Gotham to its knees in chaos than to find his way out of Arkham Asylum?

He closed his eyes and smiled as the unknown hands dragged him through a broken area of the floor to ceiling windows of the building. He felt the hands tugging at the grapple that had wrapped securely around his ankle. After a few moments of tugging the hands disappeared and he dropped to the floor on the inside of the building, landing hard on his back with a thud. He laughed slightly. So the GCPD and SWAT had taken a lesson from Batman and decided they liked to play _rough_ too, huh? Oh, this city never failed to make him laugh.

He placed his arms above his head in a show of surrender, his tongue grazing over the surface of his mangled lips. "No need to, uh, play it _rough_, boys. _You got me_. Go ahead and cart me off to your little, uh, _playpen for freaks_."

He waited to hear a witty remark or for more show of strength to ensue, but nothing happened. They didn't even bother to slap the cuffs on him. What kind of police were they?

He opened his eyes and searched around the room quickly. He could still see the bright lights searching around the outside of the building, but he didn't see a single sign of cops anywhere around him. He didn't see anyone, but knew that he wasn't alone.

"Aren't we a little _old_ to be playing peek-a-boo, _Bats_?"

"_Shhh._"

He heard the hiss like whisper come softly out of the shadows. _Definitely not the Batman_. He sat up, straining to find where the voice had come from, but saw nothing.

"They're looking for you and they _will_ find you if you don't be _quiet_ and _trust _me."

The voice was definitely female. This was certainly _intriguing_ now. He didn't make another sound, save for smacking his lips together while he arched his eyebrows in amusement. _This was going to be good_.

"Can you stand on that ankle?"

_Good question._ He used his arms and good leg to push himself up off the cold ground to stand. He put all his weight on his bad ankle and tried to stifle a small, deep groan that rose in his throat involuntarily as he winced at the pain. It was no good.

He felt a hand tug on his arm and heard her soft whisper behind him, making the hair on his neck and arms stand on end. "That's what I thought. You'll just have to lean on me, then."

Before she even knew what was happening he had grabbed her by the arm and spun her around, slamming her back first into the wall next to him, grunting slightly when he was forced to put pressure back on his ankle. He held her wrist against the wall with one hand and had her by the throat with the other. His face was so close to hers she could feel his breath falling on her face.

He kept his voice low and deep. "Might have a little _problem_ with that, _doll_. Didn't anyone ever _tell_ you that, uh, you _shouldn't trust strangers_, hm?"

He watched her face closely. Her emerald green eyes stared back at him while a small smile crept across her face. The wind blew strands of her blonde hair across her face and onto his purple gloves and he loosened his grip on her throat.

"It's your choice, really. You can either let them find you or you can trust me to get you out of here."

He narrowed his eyes at her and ran his tongue along his red painted lips and nodded. "Tell me, _beautiful_, why _should_ I trust _you_?"

Before she was able to reply the sound of many hard footsteps and voices could be heard from the floor above them. She watched as his dark eyes shot up towards the ceiling, recognizing the noise, knowing they were getting closer and coming for _him_. She watched his eyes shift back to hers, narrowing again as his painted face hardened into an unreadable expression.

She whispered softly, holding his cold, dark eyes with her own. "It's me or them. Your choice, but I'd pick soon if I was you."

He glanced up at the ceiling again, weighing his options, and then let his eyes fall back to hers. After all the chaos and mayhem he had caused he was almost comfortable with the idea of going to Arkham, but this woman pinned in his grasp in front of him obviously had other plans for him. He inhaled deeply, smelling her sweet, almost citrus scent mixing with the scent of fear and chaos from the city outside. It was intoxicating. He licked his lips, almost tasting the scents and grinned wide at the woman. _Arkham could fucking wait._

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_-_**AUTHOR'S NOTE**-

I'm not sure where I'm going with this yet, but the idea and everything popped into my head and I had to write it down, because I enjoyed it _that_ much. I've learned that it's best to write ideas like this down, especially when they come in detailed form like this did, because you never know what will come out of it. _Angel_ started this way and _Just Like Christmas_ was definitely one of these instances. Thought I would just go ahead and post it in case I decide to take this somewhere, because I can see potential for it to grow into something interesting and enjoyable to write and hopefully read, too. It definitely is a possibility for my new/next fic, but I've got to finish _Angel_ first. Let me know what you think. Reviews would be lovely. : )

UPDATE 8/20/09- I will be working on this as my next fic. It has shaped up to be a sequel to _Angel_. I have decided to take a small writing hiatus, but plan to pick my purple pen and notebook back up starting in September so sometime in the beginning/middle of September I hope to have another chapter up for this and I plan to do a lot of writing in the fall. It's my favorite time of year and it tends to be the season during which I am most creative so I love to write a lot in the fall. Thank you to all who have added this to your favorites and story alerts. I hope the wait is worth it and I hope you continue to enjoy this story. I'm very excited about the prospects of it.

See you in September! : )

Yours Truly,  
foxotr


	2. Dead End

"Let's go."

She looked at him and smiled quickly before wrapping one arm around his waist so he could put some of his weight on her. She felt him tense up and hesitate for a moment before he gave in and started to lean some of his weight into her and put his arm around her for support.

"Down here! Move down to the next level!"

He heard the voices very clearly now. The SWATs weren't that far away from them. _Shit_. He knew they'd really have to move fast to even have a chance in hell of getting out of here before it was too late. He could feel the adrenaline starting to course through him.

She started to move fast along with him in the opposite direction of the quickly approaching voices toward a door. "This way. Hurry!"

He followed along with her, putting more weight on his ankle than he really should have, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Plus, he had felt far worse pain than _this_. No, this was nothing really.

When they got to the exit and he saw the split doors he swore under his breath knowing they weren't going to find stairs behind it. _Life was never __**easy**__ was it?_ He pulled the doors open to reveal a large empty elevator shaft with a few cables in place and no elevator. _Fuck_. He looked disapprovingly down the seemingly endless dark hole and smacked his lips before looking over at her, narrowing his eyes. "_Dead. End_. Got any other _bright_ ideas, _Einstein_?"

She held his glare for a moment longer before glancing in the other direction. The voices and the footsteps accompanying them were growing louder and closer every second that they stood there. She looked back at him. "This isn't exactly a dead end, you know. We can still climb down."

He raised his eyebrows at her in disbelief as she reached into the pockets of her black pants and pulled out a pair of black gloves. She put them on fast and reached out for the closest cable and grabbed hold of it. She was _serious_ about this. Well, she certainly had _spunk_; he had to give her that.

He turned around to scope out any other nearby exits that would be a better option than this one. He spotted one way at the other end of the room. _Shit_. The voices were getting too close; he'd never make it, especially with his ankle. He turned toward her again and she was motioning for him rapidly with one hand.

"Come on. This is our only chance. It's either down the rabbit hole or stay here to get carted off by them."

Oh, what a choice _that_ was. Go to Arkham or climb down a dark fucking elevator shaft with _her_? He sighed and licked his lips, reaching his gloved hands out for another one of the cables. He gripped it tight in both hands while continuing to look at her, still trying to figure her out. Maybe it was just the current circumstances, but there was something about her that was very difficult for him to read.

She smiled at him and jumped off the ledge and started climbing down. He followed after her. She was fast, but he wasn't having too much trouble keeping up with her. They continued down several levels until they could no longer hear the voices and footsteps.

"I think I see a door over there. Let's take it."

She had stopped climbing and was indicating another door to their right like the one they had used to get down here. They both started swinging towards the door. He was the first to gain enough momentum and held his long, good leg out to kick the door in. He watched her swing through the door and stood there waiting for him.

When he swung to the ledge he made the mistake of landing on his bad ankle. He hit into her hard and they toppled to the ground. He pressed on top of her and she made no moves to get away from him. Intrigued, he looked down into her mysterious green eyes for a moment. He stood up, wincing when he put too much weight on his bad ankle again, and brushed himself off. He quickly turned his attention to looking for another exit. This time hopefully one with fucking _stairs_.

She stood up and was at his side again. She instinctively went to wrap her arm around his waist again for support. He glared down at her, his dark eyes boring into her. She thought of the old saying of "If looks could kill," and wondered if whoever coined that phrase had done so with _him_ in mind. She swallowed hard and shook her nerves off. "I, uh, I think there's another exit over there to the right. I think maybe that one has stairs."

"_Really_? Are you, uh, are you _sure_ about _that_ this time? Hm?"

She smiled nervously at him, nodding. "Pretty sure. We should go."

She started to pull him along with her towards the exit, but he had stopped her and pulled her back against a wall. His arms were pressed on either side of her, his hands resting against the wall, creating a barricade. Her breathing picked up and her heart started to pound in fear. His face was right in front of hers and his dark eyes were glaring at her.

"_Not_. So. _Fast_. _Speedy_." His voice was deep and angry. "I have a few _questions_ that I, uh, that I want _answered_ first."

She spoke softly, her eyes never leaving his. She didn't move a muscle in fear he'd kill with even the tiniest move. "Can't they wait? I don't think that now is exactly the time for playing twenty questions."

He laughed slightly and then ran his tongue along his lips. "_Funny_. Well, uh, _I_ see things just a _little_ bit _differently_. I've got _questions_ and, uh, I want some fucking _answers_. _Now_. Got _it_?"

She pressed her body further back into the wall away from him. Her voice was still soft. "Yes."

He smiled briefly before wiping it away with the flick of his tongue over his red painted lips. "_Good_. Now, _tell_ me who the hell you _are_, doll."

She continued to look up at him, backed against the wall, her expression never changing. "Raven. My name is Raven."

"Well, uh, _Raven_, why don't you go ahead and tell me _what_ you were _doing here_, hm? See, I find it just a _little_ bit too _convenient_ for you to just _appear_ here right before they took me _away_."

"You didn't want them to take you away, you know."

His right hand was gripped hard at her cheeks now, pressing her head up against the cool, hard wall. He was practically growling at her, his voice filled with an acid tone. "You _don't_ know _anything_ about me. _Don't_, uh, don't _ever_ make the _mistake_ of making _assumptions_ about me _again_. You _do_ and I'll _cut_ your _tongue_ right out of your _pretty little mouth_. Now, let's try this _again_. _Answer_ my _question_."

She felt his amazingly strong grip loosen enough for her to speak. "I was here to get you out."

"And, uh, _why_ is that _exactly_?"

She drew her lips into a half smile against his slight grip, feeling the cool fabric of his purple glove against her lips. "Because you're the only one who can get rid of the Bat."

He raised his eyebrows slightly, considering this and then rolled his eyes and laughed briefly, nodding. "So, you're _helping me_ get _out_ of here because you, uh, you actually _expect_ me to _do_ something _for_ you? Is _that_ what you're telling, _Raven_?"

She looked directly into his dark eyes. "I can't let you go to Arkham until you're finished doing what needs to be done, Joker."

He snarled at her, slamming her head hard against the wall. He brought his face directly in front of hers, a few strands of his hair falling onto her cheek. "Hate to, uh, _disappoint_ you, but I've got a _little_ bit of a _newsflash_ for you. I _don't_ work for _anybody_, but _me_, doll. I _certainly_ don't do _favors_ for _anyone_ either. _Got_ it?"

"Yes."

He dropped his hand from her head. She looked at him, questioning him. "Is that all you needed to know now because if we don't get moving they're going to catch up to us."

He backed away from her and glanced back over his shoulder at the door leading to the stairs and then took a quick look around the room. He didn't hear any more footsteps or voices, but he knew that didn't mean they weren't still coming for him. It was probably every cop in Gotham's _wet dream_ to be the one to catch the _infamous_ Joker. _She was right_. If they were going to get out of here they had better get out now.

"I'm finished…_for now_."

"Good."

She was at his side again and hesitantly wrapped her arm around his waist again. They headed towards the door in silence. When they finally reached the door she felt relieved when she opened it to reveal a set of stairs. She smiled up at him, "See? What'd I tell you? Think you can make it down these?"

He shoved her off of him and grabbed the railing of the stairs. "_Not _a fucking _invalid_. You go _ahead_ of me. _Ladies first_."

She hesitated for a moment as he stretched his long arm out gesturing for her to move ahead. She guessed they had about five more floors to go before they reached the bottom and she wasn't sure if he could really make it down those stairs on his own with that ankle. However, she could tell by the fiery look in his eyes that there would be no argument at this. Oh well, at least he had the railings to lean against.

"Fine," she started off down the stairs in front of him.

She could hear him behind her in the dark. He was moving surprisingly fast, but she could tell by the few low groans he had let escape that he was hurting.

After he was starting to form a new hatred for stairs and was considering killing the asshole who invented them he finally saw the red exit sign glowing on the wall above him. He heard her footsteps stop and she started trying to open the door. He didn't see it budging any time soon. _Weak_. _Pathetic_. He reached the door and pushed her away with one arm. He kicked the door a few times with his good leg before it finally sprang open and the soft glow of street lamps outside began to pour in on them. He inhaled a big breath of fresh air from the outside, closing his eyes. When he opened them he turned to her, grinning. "Y'see, my little _fledgling_, _that's_ how it's _done_. Now, uh, I _don't suppose_ you've got a _plan_ of how to get _away_ from the building _do_ you?"

She smiled, nodding at him. His face was illuminated by the soft glow of the street lights outside. "Well, I drove here."

He looked out the door briefly and then turned his head back to her, sucking in a breath through pursed lips and then smacking his lips together when he let the breath out. "Yeah? Well, uh, _where's_ the _car_ at? Hm?"

She pointed out the door for him. "Down that alley there."

He nodded and stuck his head out the door again looking for any cops or people that might come for him when they saw him. He didn't see anything from this side, which appeared to be the back, except the dark alley ahead of them and Gotham Harbor to the side. He could still see the ferries out there and he remembered Batman knocking the detonator out of his hand before he had a chance to do anything. _Oh, Batman, you miserable fuck, if only you knew_.

He felt her arm wrap hesitantly around him again and he jumped slightly when she started to tug on him, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Well, are you coming or did you change your mind?"

He smiled and ran his tongue along his lips, shifting his eyes from the ferries to her. "No, no, _no_. Let's _go_."

They took off down the alley towards her car in the dark night. They walked as fast as they could manage with his ankle, incase anyone should be lurking around in the shadows. They constantly kept their eyes open to their surroundings making sure there was nobody around. When they finally reached her small black car he stopped her from getting into the driver's side. He grabbed her arm tightly and spun her around, pulling her towards the passenger door.

"_A ta-ta_," he patted her cheek roughly, pressing his body into her against the car. "I'll be taking our little _escape_ from here, _cupcake_. How about you give me the _keys_, hm?"

She stared up at him, confused. His face was so close to hers that she could feel his breath on her. "What?"

He had his switchblade out and was holding it up against the side of her face. "The _keys_, Raven. _Give_ me the fucking _keys_ or I _carve_ your pretty little _face _up like a _pumpkin_."

She knew he wouldn't hesitate to do exactly as he had said. One wrong move and she would be dead before she even had a chance to realize what was coming for her. She took a deep, nervous breath.

"They're in the car. Under the mat on the driver's side. The doors are unlocked."

She watched, still in shock, as he smiled slightly, never lowering his knife away from her face.

"_That's_ a girl. Now _get in_."

He pulled open the passenger door and shoved her roughly into the car. He put his knife away inside his coat and began digging for something else.

"What are you doing?"

He found what he was looking for and dangled it in the air for her to see. He grinned wide and laughed excitedly._ Oh if only he could see the looks on their faces; on __**his**__ face now._ He contained his laughter and looked down into her confused green eyes.

"Well, you were _right_ about one _teensy_ little _thing_. Y'see, I'm _not_ quite _finished_ here. _No, no_. I've still got a few more _cards_ up my _sleeve_."

With that he turned around and pressed a button on the detonator and they watched as both ferries along with the Pruitt building erupted into brilliant orange fire; lighting the dark Gotham night sky ablaze with chaos and destruction.

He stood outside of the car for a few minutes, laughing to himself with a huge grin plastered on his white painted face. He was basking in the sheer beauty of the explosions and wreckage around him. Gotham Harbor had never looked more beautiful with fire dancing across it's waters. He put the detonator away and closed the passenger door shut before limping quickly over to the driver's side.

He got in, pushing the seat back to accommodate his long, lanky legs. He reached down under the mat and fished out the keys then turned to face her as he stuck the key in the ignition. He still had that same eerily happy grin on his face. "Let's go _home_, _To-To_."

He erupted into bouncing high-pitched giggles as he slammed his foot on the gas and they peeled off out of the alley and away from the burning building and harbor behind them. _Oh, was it ever great to be __**free**_!

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-_**AUTHOR'S NOTE**_-

- I'm back from my writing hiatus! Earlier than expected too. I have to say that I'm glad to be back and I hope those who added this to story alert because you liked _**Angel**_ are still with me on this as well as any newcomers who added this just because they were intrigued. I hope you are all enjoying this as well. Hopefully I will get back on some sort of a regular schedule with writing and updating this because I love to write a lot during the fall and the season is fast approaching so I'd like to see a lot get accomplished. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you'll continue to keep reading! Thanks for reading I appreciate it! Do review if you feel inclined to do so. ;) I love to know what people think about my writing.

-_**Disclaimer Time!**_- (like Hammer Time only not as catchy a tune...)

Yeah...I own none of these characters except for Raven. She's my brain child. That's it, though. Credit goes to the awesome geniuses who created the rest of these amazing characters and the companies that own the rights to said characters.


	3. Deep, Dark, Secrets

The Joker drove through the Narrows, which were surprisingly silent and empty. _Oh, they wouldn't be in the morning when they found out about everything, would they? _He laughed slightly and glanced over at Raven who sat stiffly in the passenger seat, her seemingly delicate hands were gripping hard at the sides of her seat.

He smiled and clicked his tongue while he raced through yet another red light. "I, uh, I _don't_ _think_ there's an _eject button_ in this car, y'_know_."

Raven turned her head to look at him. "It's not an eject button that I'm worried about. I'm more worried about your driving, really. Are you sure you have a license?"

He laughed even more now. Of all the things she could be worried about sitting in a car with _him_, she was worried about his reckless _driving_? He pressed his foot down against the pedal to speed up to ninety, still laughing. "My _driving_? I don't _need_ a _license_ to do _anything_, _Tweety_. You, uh, you _really_ should _know_ that I've _never_ been one for..._rules_. Why live your life in the _boredom_ of following _rules_ that _everyone breaks_ _anyways_ when you can be living in _chaos_ and having a _hell_ of a _lot_ more _fun_. So, uh, I _drive_ however I _want_ and I go as _fast_ as I _feel_ like going. _Got it_?"

She nodded, smiling at him. He had such a way with words, that it was hard not to be completely enveloped in whatever he was saying. Whether you believed it or not, he had a certain way of making you believe. "Oh, of course. I understand completely."

He shifted his eyes at her briefly, licking his lips. "_Good_. Guess you're, uh, _smarter_ than you _look_."

He continued to drive for a few minutes in silence until he got bored of it and decided to glance back over at her. Looking at her pretty face was certainly better than staring at the disgusting wasteland that was the Narrows around him, that was for sure. He noticed she still had her hands gripped to the seat, her green eyes were focused out the window in deep thought. _What the hell was she thinking about and why wouldn't she stop gripping the seat in fear like that? _More importantly, and more irritatingly, why the _fuck_ did he _care?_

She saw his dark eyes glancing over at her and she instinctively tightened her grip on the seat. She had been trying to keep quiet, afraid any conversation might cause him to snap and this would all be over. She couldn't risk that.

His harsh, deep voice broke the silence. "_Stop. Doing. That_."

_Shit._ He'd noticed her tensing hadn't he? Or maybe he had wanted her to keep talking. She looked at him briefly and then turned her gaze back out the windshield. "Stop what?"

He growled, annoyed, and shifted his eyes over to her again. Her hands were still gripping her seat as she stared back at him. He took one of his hands off the wheel and reached down to hers, his eyes still on the road, and pried her hand off the seat. He held her hand up by the wrist in his tight grasp.

"_This_," his voice was even deeper now, and more deadly serious. "I'm _talking_ about _this_. You're _gripping_ at your seat like you think I might, _what_? I might, uh, press a _magic_ _button_ on the dashboard here that _flings_ you right out the car; sending you _flying_ out to your _tragically_ yet, uh, _hilariously ironic_ death?"

She looked at her arm being held up by his tight grip and then took in his angry face. She noticed that when he looked like that it made his already harsh, threatening features seem all the more dangerous and frightening; almost like a defense mechanism to ward people away from him. He knew what he was doing. He knew exactly how to look at people, to read them, to talk to them and he certainly always knew precisely which buttons needed to be pressed and in the right order, too. Well, she knew what she was doing too. She knew exactly why she was sitting here in his grip and she wasn't going to let a little fear get in the way of anything.

She locked her eyes on his for a moment and licked her own lips before speaking softly. "I'm not worried about any magic buttons, but you're right about one thing I suppose."

Ah, of _course_ he was. He _always_ was, wasn't he? He smiled smacking his lips together in an almost triumphant manner. "Now, _now_, my little, uh, _gosling_. _Afraid_ I'm going to let _go_ of you and _throw_ you out to see if you can, uh, _fly_ on your _own_? Hm?"

She watched his eyes grow darker, with a hint amusement in them, as a smile spread across his scarred red painted lips and he focused on the road again. He let her hand drop suddenly and laughed slightly as he heard it collide with the arm rest. She made sure to place her hand on her leg now instead of the seat.

"I guess you could say that, because, well, maybe you don't have an eject button this time, but that doesn't mean anything, does it? What's to stop you from pulling a gun or a knife on me? Let's face it, what's to stop you from killing me at all? I'm just being prepared for the unpredictable and the inevitable."

He stopped the car then and turned toward her, smiling darkly at her as she backed herself timidly against the door, never breaking eye contact with him. "Hm, _yes_. Y'know something, _Raven_? You've got a _good_ point, there. _What_, uh, _exactly_ is there to _keep_ me from _cutting_ you up into a _million little pieces_ or blowing you up _right now_? Hm?"

She swallowed hard and forced a small smile at him. "Nothing. I guess you'll just have to trust me and I'll have to trust you."

He shook his head as he reached out to grab hold of her cheek with one hand, pushing her head into the glass window. "No, _no_. _No_. See, I, uh, I _don't trust anyone_. _Ever_."

"You trusted me to get you out of the Pruitt building."

He laughed a small, high pitched laugh and ran his tongue along his jagged lips. "_Wrong_. No, I _allowed_ you _help_ me because I was, uh, _curious_ about _you_. You're _alive _now because I'm _still_ curious, but I, uh, I tend to get _bored_ fast. See, _that_ is why you should _never_ trust _me_ either unless _I_ give you my _word_."

"Yeah, well, I think I'll take my chances. I don't plan to let you get bored, you know."

He tightened his grip marginally, the smile gone from his lips. "We'll, uh, we'll _see_ about _that_."

She swallowed hard and nodded, her eyes still on his. She watched as he licked his lips and half smiled at her before removing his hand from her cheek. In a blur of purple, he glided out of the car. Before she could move to open her own door and follow him, he was already at her door.

She gasped in shock and could still make out his bright red smile in the dark. _Didn't take much to amuse him, did it?_ He yanked her door open and pulled her out into the cool Gotham night air next to him. He slammed the door shut and the next thing she knew he slammed her against the car.

"Your, uh, _joy ride_ stops _here_."

She glanced around his tall, looming frame at their surroundings. They were in a particularly eerie area just off of the Narrows. The whole area seemed almost deserted. It was lined with what looked to have been beautiful old town homes at one point. Now they were all falling apart, boarded up and far from welcoming. _How fittingly quaint._

"Here? Why? Where is this exactly?"

He laughed briefly and then shifted his weight to his good leg, letting a small guttural groan escape. He bit down on his lip, trying to ignore the pain, and placed his hands on either side of her head against the car. "What's _wrong_ with _here_, hm? Were you expecting maybe, ah, _Wayne Manor_? _Not_ my _style_. Too _boring_."

She shook her head. "No, I definitely wasn't expecting Wayne Manor, but I wasn't expecting this either really. I guess I had you pegged as more of an abandoned warehouse kind of guy."

For a brief second she watched as his features drastically hardened. His eyes narrowed and his lips started to curl up into almost a snarl. She was prepared to be murdered right then and there, but in another quick instant he looked up and shook his head. His green tinged curls shook around in the moonlight and then he brought his eyes back down to her. He let out a snuff of a laugh, grinning as he rolled his eyes. "_Did_ have a _warehouse_ once, but, uh, wouldn't you _know it_? I went and fucking _blew_ _it_ _up_."

"Why'd you blow it up?"

He tightened his gloved hands into fists, the material squeaking from the movement, and clenched his jaw. He narrowed his eyes on her and let his tongue snake out across his lips. "I _blew_ it _up_ because I fucking _had_ to. Y'know _something_? If _I_ was _you_, I'd _stop_ asking all these _questions_ right about, oh, _now_. You keep _pissing_ me _off_ and I'm, uh, I'm _quite_ _liable_ to blow _you_ up too, _precious_."

She was backed as far into the car as she could be now, but he was still so close to her that it was almost suffocating. Every nerve in her body was a live wire when he stood that close to her. "Ok. I got it. No more questions, then. Just tell me which building we're going to. We need to get you off that ankle. You have to be in so much pain right now."

He lifted his eyebrows and smiled before he drew his face as close to hers as he could get it without their noses actually touching. He drew in a short breath, smacking his lips. "_Tell_ me, _doll_, _what_, uh, what _makes_ you think I'm _taking_ you _with_ me?"

Now it was her turn to smile at him, despite the shivers running through her body at that moment. She knew how to play her ace, too. "What's to stop me from running to the cops if I don't go with you? Right now, I know where the Joker is and I think that's information that every authority figure all along the ladder in this town would probably kill to know. Of course, I don't actually want to do that, but if you don't let me just help you, well, you'd leave me no choice."

He nodded rolling his eyes and laughing deeply. "_Is that so_? Well, ah, I have a _very_ simple _solution_ for _that_, y'know. _Bribes_? They _don't_ really work on _me_, sweetness. So tell me, _how_ _exactly _do you _plan_ to, ah, go _flying_ off to the _good cops_ of _Gotham_ if you're _dead_?"

_Shit_. _So much for that ace._ It seemed like no matter what card you played against him, he always had a better one to play against you. Her lips started to twitch nervously as she felt shivers running through her body. "Look, I've come this far. You need help with that ankle and I want to help you. That's all I want to do."

He laughed then brought one gloved hand back up to her face, clenching at her jaw. "I have a _story_ for you. Do you, uh, do you want to hear it? Hm?"

She wasn't able to reply as he used his hand to nod her head yes for her.

"So, I _knew_ this _girl_, _right_? She was _very beautiful_. She, uh, she _thought_ she needed to _help me_, like _you_. I kept telling her I _didn't_ _need_ any _help_, but she was _stubborn_. _Too_ stubborn. She _never_ listened. She was _always_ going to do what _she needed to do_. You, uh, you know what _happened_ to her?"

Her eyes were wide and her body was tense as he used his hand again to make her shake her head no. Even in her fear, she still had to admit that she was actually fully intrigued by his story. She had a pretty good idea how it ended, but she wanted to hear him finish.

"_C'mon now_. It's pretty _funny_. Go _ahead_. I _want_ you to guess. _Guess_ what _happened_ to that _beautiful_ girl that I _knew_."

He let go of her jaw then and stared at her, waiting impatiently for her reply.

Her voice came out in almost a whisper. "She…she died?"

He slammed his fist hard against the car next to her head, laughing in sheer delight when she jumped. "We have a _winner_! Not so _hard_ to _guess_ now _was it_?"

She didn't dare say anything. She stood there as still as she could possibly manage, afraid to move or speak incase she pushed him too far. He was an obvious live wire right now and there was no telling what he was capable of at this moment.

"So the, uh, the _morale_ of the _story_ is that I _don't_ need _any_ fucking _help_. _At. All_. Try to _help_ me and, uh, the _odds_ are _pretty_ high that you'll wind up _dead_."

She looked at him, letting the harsh reality of his words sink in. He was dangerous. That much was always clear to her, but that didn't mean everything. He was certainly going to make this very difficult.

"Do you want to know what I think? I think that there are millions of ways a person could die, especially in this city. So, you know what? I think I'm willing to take my chances with you for tonight."

He smiled darkly at her as he reached inside his purple trench coat to pull out his switchblade, bringing it effortlessly up to her face. He pressed the cool, silver blade lightly along her cheek. "It, uh, it would be _easy_, y'know? To _kill_ you. Even _now_. I may be _hurt_, but uh, _nothing_ really _stops me_. _Ever_. I guess I'm _kind of _like that, uh, that _fucking bunny_ with the _batteries_ and the _drum_. No matter _what_ happens I just _keep going_. And _going_. I _don't_ and will _never stop_."

She looked at him while continuing to keep very still. She felt the cool blade against her cheek and had to keep her body from shivering against and the cool night air. The air around them was thick with emotion and uncertainty.

A cold wind blew against him, ruffling his purple trench coat against his legs, and he momentarily lost his concentration on her. For a moment he didn't want to be that fucking bunny anymore. For a moment he was just a man who felt a little cold and was in a lot of pain. He was a man who was so fucking tired that he wanted nothing more than to just go up to his room and collapse on his bed. He closed his eyes for a second, letting himself think clearly. He could deal with her in the morning.

He took the blade away from her face, stuck it back in his coat pocket, and stepped away from her. He brought his fist in front of his lips and cleared his throat, then used his hand to point. "The, ah, the _green_ one on the _right_ over there that's missing the _stairs_ in the _front_."

She looked at him, straightening herself away from the car and then glanced at the house he was gesturing at. It was definitely the ugliest of all the old abandoned houses on the entire street. _Of course._

"_That_ one's yours?"

He rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue, sighing. "_No_, I was thinking of _investing_ in _real estate_ and I just, uh, simply _had_ to have your _valuable input_ on this _unique fixer upper_."

She laughed a genuine laugh for the first time and for a second she could have sworn she saw him smile a genuine smile back at her before he started limping off towards the house.

She caught up with him and placed her hand on his shoulder, causing him to stop dead in his tracks and turn his head around to glare down at her. "Hey, just let me make this a little easier for you. Please?"

She wrapped her arm around his waist and prepared herself for some sort of fight. He didn't speak this time. He simply let out a small irritated groan as he shifted his weight and put his long arm around her shoulders. He leaned into her slightly and they set off towards the house together.

"There's a, uh, there's a _door_ around _back_. Right over _there_. _Can't_ use the _front_."

She walked with him in the direction of the back of the house. She looked around in the dark night, confused, when she stopped at the back and sucked in a deep breath, clicking his tongue.

"Where the hell is the door, Joker? I don't see any fucking…"

"That's because you aren't looking in the _right_ place. _Up_. Look _up_."

She glanced up and saw fire escape stairs leading up the building to a door on the third floor. _Damnit_. _Why couldn't this just be easy, for once?_

He was already on the first platform of the fire escape, looking down at her. "What's the _matter_? Too _difficult_ for you? Hm?"

She sighed and jumped up, grabbing hold of the bars of the first platform of the fire escape, and pulled herself up. She watched as he used the railings to support his weight and lumbered to the top with her following close behind him.

He reached into his purple trench coat and retrieved a small key out of a pocket on the inside. He opened the door with it and motioned for her to go in ahead of him.

She walked into a dark hallway lit only by the sparse light coming in from the opened door behind her. _Think goodness for dilapidated old street lamps._ Further down the narrow hall she could make out some stairs leading down to the bottom floors. The hall held three closed doors to the right and two to the left. She glanced up to see a light hanging over her head and was just about to walk towards the switch when she heard the door slam shut, followed by his dark, high pitched laughter that made the skin on her neck crawl.

Her breath hitched in her throat as his laughter drew closer to her and then stopped. Before she knew what was happening, she felt his gloved hand clasp over her mouth as his other strong arm wrapped around her, pulling her up against his surprisingly warm body. Her heartbeat quickened as she felt his lips graze her ear, a soft, eerie laugh echoing out at her.

"Sh, _shh_, _shhhh, darling_. It's, uh, it's _late_ and I _don't_ want you _waking_ any of my _neighbors_. Should've _known_ I couldn't just _let_ you go _waltzing_ around my place like _that_, though. No, _no_. I'm, uh, I'm _not_ very _good_ with the whole _house guests_ thing. I'm more of a _loner_, y'know? Having other _people_ around _really_, uh, just tends to _complicate everything_."

She could feel him slowly dragging her along with him down the hall and then over to the right before stopping. She was facing away from the door and with no light around there was no way she could tell which door he was now reaching to open.

He opened the door and pulled her closer against him again, a smile spreading across his lips. "Oh, and _Raven_?"

He let go of her mouth, allowing her to speak. She swallowed hard, trying to recuperate before answering softly. "Yes?"

"You _might_ want to _watch out _for that first _step_ there. It's a _doozie_!"

She heard his booming, excited laughter before she even felt his powerful shove, propelling her forward into the dark room. She lost her balance and fell forward onto what felt like plush carpet under her hands. It had a rather musty smell to it, too. Before she could get back up, she heard the him slam the door shut and lock it, still laughing. She was getting back on her feet when he finally turned a lamp on behind her.

He took his coats off and tossed them over on an old black arm chair across from his bed. He was loosening his tie when she turned around to look at him. He looked back at her for a second, his dark eyes narrowing on her soft eyes before he abruptly turned his head away. He hastily pointed over at the opened door leading to his bathroom.

"Listen, uh, _Florence Nightingale_. You want to make yourself _useful_, hm? Why don't you go in _there_ and look in the medicine _cabinet_. There's some _Tylenol_ in there that I could _use_ for this fucking _ankle_."

She nodded at him. "Sure."

She entered the bathroom and flipped the switch to the light. She was surprised to see it was actually pretty clean except for a few bottles of make-up on the sink counter next to a drinking glass. She smiled at the make-up because it was a pretty comical sight.

"Did ya get _lost_ in there? Hm?"

She jumped and turned around to see him standing in the doorway, leaning his shoulder against the frame. She was certain that her jaw actually dropped open and hit the floor like a wolf in a Tex Avery cartoon when she took the entire sight of him in. He had removed the green vest and his tie and he had his suspenders hanging down against his legs. The top four buttons of his hexagonal patterned shirt were opened, revealing some of his chest. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, showing his strong forearms crossed in front of his chest. His greasy green tinged curls hung at the sides of his face, clinging to his make-up in some spots. His red painted lips were set in a half, amused smirk at her.

"What? Oh, I, uhm, no I was just thinking that your bathroom was really clean. That is, cleaner than I thought it would be."

His lips stretched into a full smile as he raised an eyebrow in further amusement. "Too _clean_? _Interesting_. Well I, uh, I _could_ take _care_ of _that_ if you _want_ me to."

As soon as he started walking near her, the smile and amusement gone from his face, she backed into the wall next to the sinking counter, knocking into it. She watched the tubes of make-up fall to the floor as he slowly drew closer to her.

He stopped directly in front of her and smacked his lips, almost comically. "Y'_know_ something? You _really_ need to _relax_. _Look_ at you. You're like a fucking _deer_ caught in _headlights_. What did you _think_ I meant? Hm? Think I meant that I could _kill_ you? Think I _wanted_ to give my _bathroom_ a nice, uh, _crimson makeover_?"

"No. Well, maybe. I just…I can't predict what you're going to do."

He smiled and patted her cheek roughly. "_Predictability_ is, uh, _over-rated_. Oh, and _besides_ the fact that I _happen_ to _like_ my bathroom, well, uh, I'm _not_ going to _kill_ you tonight. Not when you still are of _use_ to me and, uh, not unless it's _funny_ and for a _purpose_."

She eased herself away from the wall, feeling oddly safer now, but still confused. "Funny?"

"Of c_ourse_. Why _bother_ to _kill _if it's not going to serve a _purpose_ or at _least_ make me _laugh_? That would be a real _waste_ wouldn't it?"

She nodded. "I guess so, but if that's true then why didn't you kill Batman when you had the chance?"

He worried at his scars for a moment, his eyes narrowing, before answering. "_Simple_. _Very simple_. See, the _Batman_ is the _ultimate challenge_. The ultimate _laugh_. If I _killed _the Batman _right now_, sure that would provide me with _quite_ the _laugh_ if I did it _just right_, and I _would_. But, uh, y'know what's _missing_ from that _plan_? If you _kill_ him, well then you only get to enjoy _one_ big _bittersweet laugh _and then it's _all over_. No more _playing_. If you keep him _alive_ and continue to _push_ all his _buttons_ and, uh, _break_ him down _bit by agonizing bit_? _Ah_, now _there's_ an _endless_ supply of laughs for me _every single day _and a _challenge_ too."

"So, you've never really wanted to kill him that? At all?"

He narrowed his dark eyes on her, clenching his jaw briefly. He smacked his lips and moved back to the doorway again. "_Top shelf_ of that cabinet there. Bring me a couple _Tylenol_ and, uh, fill that _glass_ with water and bring it out."

She watched him moved back to the bedroom, the mood considerably darker again, and out of sight. She sighed and pried open the small medicine cabinet above the sing. On the top shelf she found a small white bottle of Tylenol. _Wow, he must have a high tolerance to pain if all he needed to have that ankle feel better were a few Tylenol and a good night's sleep. _She poured two of the pills out in her hand and closed the bottle and put it back on the shelf. She closed the door and grabbed the glass on the counter, noticing a smudge of red lipstick along the brim, and turned the tap to cold. She filled the glass and walked back out to the bedroom to find him sitting on his bed, looking very tired. His back was against the wall and his lanky legs stretched out across the bed in front of him. She smiled when she saw his feet in their odd patterned socks, free of his old brown shoes.

"Here you go."

He snapped his head up to look at her. He used his head to point at the small night stand next to him. "_Just_, uh, just _set _them down _there_."

She set the two pills down on the table and set the glass next to it. She watched him look at her for a moment before he reached over to the table to grab the pills and the water. He tossed them in his mouth and took a big swig of the water, downing the entire glass. He placed the glass back on the table and shifted himself down to lay his head on the pillow.

"Did you need me to get you anything else? Maybe some ice or something?"

He closed his eyes, "_No_. Don't need _anything_. Just some fucking _sleep_. Been a _long_ day."

She watched him get more comfortable and after a few minutes his breathing started to grow soft and rhythmic. _Didn't take him long did it? _She sighed and spotted the arm chair he had thrown his coats and vest on earlier. She could probably get some rest herself in that. It looked comfortable enough. She was about to settle down when she noticed something on the floor next to the chair. She bent down to pick it up off the grayish carpet and sat back down in the chair to look at it.

The object was a small newspaper clipping. The clipping looked slightly worn and ripped around the edges, but the image staring back at her was still very clear. It was a photo of a young smiling woman with bright blue eyes and beautiful black hair. She was pretty, happy and looked very much…alive. _"So, I knew this girl, right? She was very beautiful. Try to help me and, uh, the odds are pretty high that you'll wind up dead."_

She looked up from the image, her hands growing cold. She started to ask him who the woman was and if she was the woman that wound up dead. She wanted to know who she was and what happened to her. She wanted to know why he would have this photo lying around. _No._ She'd have to ask him tomorrow. It wouldn't do any good to ask him now. She placed the clipping back down on the floor and leaned back into the chair to get comfortable.

She glanced over at his almost peaceful frame stretched out on the bed. He hadn't even bothered to wash the make up off and he was still in his clothes. _What was he hiding?_ She could only begin to imagine the sort of deep, dark secrets a man like him could possibly have. Secrets she was determined to uncover because sometimes there are some things that nobody should have to keep locked away forever.

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-**AUTHOR'S NOTE_-_**

**_- _**To everyone who is still with me after my being gone for so long, and anyone who made it through this ginormous chapter,

I'm sorry I was gone for so long. I really didn't intend to be, but this is life and in real life sometimes things happen that prevent someone from being able to write the way they want. I had quite the bit of family trauma going on and things are winding down a little, but it's still been pretty bad recently. I know that writing, for me, is usually a stress reliever and kind of like therapy, but sometimes things get so messed up that you just don't really have it in you to pick up something like this and really give it your all. That's why I didn't bother to write unless I knew I could pick it up and really concentrate and give it my all. I care enough about my fics that I want them to turn out the best that I can possibly make them.

Which is also another reason why it took so long. When I was able to pick this up I found that this chapter was difficult to end exactly where and how I needed it to. Took me a lot longer than I thought to really get accomplished what I needed to get done. Let me also point out that in the midst of all my family problems my computer decided to take a crap on me and crashed and I had to work on getting that back up (re-installing and starting from scratch much?) before I could even type this up. However, I truly want to thank those who are still with me on this story. I want to give a special shout out to **JessLovesTheJoker** as she was great enough to send me a review at a time when I needed one the most to make me feel like people cared that I update or finish this or not. Thank you so much for your awesome review and your messages that followed. I really appreciate it.

So, I hope this chapter was worth the wait for all of you. I can't promise how long it's going to take for me to get another one up, but I can promise that like all my other stories I've posted thus far this one will get finished and I will give it my all. Thank you to all the readers and reviewers and even you subscribers who are too shy to leave a review. You guys are the best! Thank you for your patience and your continued reading of my work.

Yours Truly,  
foxotr -

**P.S.- As always I own nothing except for Raven and Angel. **

**-edited 3/21/2010  
**


	4. Darkness and Fire

_"Jack?"_

_He could feel the hair standing up on his neck when he heard her voice. How? He whipped his head around to look for her, but saw nothing. He couldn't see a damn thing. Everything around him was shadowed in complete blackness and he had no idea where he was, but he knew that it was __**her**__ voice and it sounded so far away, yet so clear. Especially since he was so sure he'd never hear her voice again._

_"Jack… please."_

_She was pleading with him. Why? What was happening? He had to find her, had to find out what was going on, but when he didn't even know __**where**__ he was that made things a little bit tricky. He was still surrounded by complete blackness and was starting to get pretty angry and frustrated. All he wanted was to find her and get some answers, but couldn't even figure out where he was._

_"Jack? Where are you? You have to hurry!"_

_If he wasn't frustrated before, he certainly was now. A low guttural growl escaped his lips in the darkness. He took a step forward in the blackness and caught a whiff of a very familiar, lovely scent; fire. He took another step forward and the darkness finally gave way to light. Now he knew where he was. He was standing in the middle of a very familiar dark alley that was currently illuminated by a rather large fire that was engulfing the old abandoned warehouse that had once been his home not so long ago. He balled his hands into fists, the fabric squeaking, and shook his head in disbelief. He watched the fire, entranced, as he felt the hot smoke blow against his white painted face. The fire was bringing back memories he had long since consciously pushed far out of his mind._

_"Jack! Oh god, hurry!"_

_Her voice was now an almost desperate scream that he couldn't ignore very easily. This wasn't a memory that he could just simply push out of his mind. He clenched his jaw tight. He knew now that her voice was coming from inside the burning building. Terrific._

_He started to run towards the burning building, but his lanky legs just weren't carrying him as fast as he would have normally gone. He felt weighed down; as if someone were holding him back or like he was running through water. It took everything he had in him to get to the building which annoyed him beyond belief. He didn't have time to live in slow motion._

_He stood outside the burning building watching the bright, blazing flames dancing around the old metal garage door he had always used to enter the warehouse. He knew it would be too hot to reach down and pull it open like he always had. No, this time he'd have to get a little bit more __**creative**__ in entering. Even if it meant frying himself to a crisp and coming out resembling good ole Harvey Dent, he just didn't care. He had to try. He wanted answers and, well, curiosity killed the Joker._

_He took a deep breath and kicked out his right leg at the door as hard as he could manage. The burning door fell in with a crash and he turned his head to the side, raising his arms up, preparing for the inevitable back draft of angry flames that never came. He dropped his arms slowly, confused, and narrowed his dark eyes trying to see inside the building. He watched as a sudden swarm of bats replaced the flames and began to fly out of the door directly at him. The sound of their wings all around him was almost deafening and he was instantly clouded by darkness. He could feel them clawing at his face. As if it wasn't already cut up enough. He instinctively threw his long arms up in front of him, hitting hard at the insufferable creatures surrounding him. _

_"Jack… don't. You can't win."_

_Even in this awful mess her voice still created an odd mixture of emotions in him. Emotions he still didn't really understand. It was so soft and inviting, just like he had remembered it being, and yet it still had the power to mildly irritate him. He still didn't understand how she had that kind of power to still lure him in and piss him off all at the same time._

_He stopped hitting at the bats briefly, humoring her, and to his surprise the swarm had disappeared along with all traces of the once powerful fire. This just kept getting more and more interesting, now didn't it?_

_He walked into the building and on impulse he turned his head to the bare cement wall next to the garage door where he had left her last after… No, she wasn't there, but __**something**__ was on the ground in the spot where her body should have been. Curious, he walked briskly over to the spot and looked down at the ground, cocking his head slightly to the side. Adorning the cold, dark cement floor was a fresh pool of crimson in the awful shape of a bat. Why did it __**always**__ have to be __**bats**__? _

_He knelt down, his knees cracking slightly, and grit his teeth in anger. He took everything. The bastard took everything. There was always going to be a bat in his way. He let out an angry snarl as he slammed his purple gloved fist down into the warm crimson bat. His movement sent blood splashing up at the wall and on his coat, speckling them with the warm mist. He didn't care. In his anger he took his hand and continued wiping feverishly away at the liquid, smearing it like paint into the cement. He kept going until it no longer resembled anything except perhaps a small child's unintelligible finger painting, which suited him just fine. _

_He removed his hand from the floor and stared down at the smeared mess of blood below him and started laughing. He felt the laughter start from deep down in his stomach and it heartily rose with volume and strength to his throat. He was almost hysterical with laughter and he could hear his own high pitched chuckles echoing through the building. It felt so good; so empowering. In fact, he hadn't laughed like this since…_

_"Jack? Where are you?"_

_He abruptly cut off his laughter and turned his head towards the metal stairs at the other end of the room. He glanced down at his purple gloved hands that were now noticeably coated in blood. He sighed and stood up, removing the gloves and the purple coat and tossed them to the floor. He rolled up the sleeves of his blue hexagonal patterned shirt and started walking toward the stairs. He knew there was one last place she could be and that was in what had once been his room here where they had spent so much of their time together. _

_When he got to the stairs he took them two at a time, not wanting to waste any more time. At the top of the stairs he was surprised to see that the single bulb that had once illuminated the hallway was no longer there and he was greeted yet again by more darkness. He walked the hallway in the dark, still knowing his way to the bedroom. He reached out for the door and was about to grab hold of the knob when he decided to pause to quickly run a hand through his tangled mess of green tinged curls. When he was done he pounded his fist against the old wooden door for good measure._

_"Angeline?"_

_He worked at the scars on the inside of his mouth. It was so quiet he could hear every uneven breath that he took while waiting for her to reply. It felt like an eternity, but after a few moments her voice came as soft, lovely, and alive as ever from the other side of the door._

_"I'm here. Open the door, Jack. It's ok."_

_He pulled his red painted mangled lips up into a half grin and reached down to turn the knob on the door. He pushed it open slowly, letting it creak, and for a moment he was met with the same darkness as he had seen in the hallway. When he took a big step inside the room he was instantly blinded by a bright white light and couldn't see anything. The light was so bad that he had to close his eyes shut tight._

_"Angeline? Where are you? Can't, uh, can't see anything but this damn light."_

_He felt a soft, warm hand lightly touch his bare forearm and he felt shivers run down his spine. It was __**her**__, it __**had**__ to be. He grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. _

_He opened his eyes only to see that the woman he held in his arms was not his Angel. No. He clearly had his arms wrapped around Raven. _

_She simply smiled at him innocently, reached up to move a strand of his hair off of his face and whispered, "Wake up."_

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_-_**AUTHOR'S NOTE-**

**-** Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays everyone! Sorry this one took me a little longer than expected to write/put up, but I had a lot of stuff going on in my life at this very busy time of year that kind of prohibited me from writing much. Hopefully after the hustle and bustle of the season I will have a lot more time to write this. I know this chapter is kind of short and of course a little weird, but I rather enjoyed writing it and was actually quite thrilled with it. It was definitely a lot of fun getting into his head and writing out what would be a dream or even a nightmare to him. I hope that you all enjoy it and I hope you're all still reading. Take care everyone! Thanks again for all the awesome support, and kind words. It means a lot to me. Keep on reading and reviewing!

Yours Truly,  
foxotr

-**A SHORT DISCLAIMER**-

- As always I am **NOT** awesome enough to own Joker or Gotham or Arkham or anything else DC created. I am just a fan. However, I **do** claim Angel and Raven as figments of my own imagination.


	5. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

He abruptly opened his eyes to Raven standing next to his bed. Her right hand was placed tentatively on his arm as she looked down at him with eyes full of pathetic concern. A mix of fury, confusion, and shock ran through him all at once. He reacted so fast she didn't see what was coming for her; hell, _he_ didn't even see it coming.

He sat up swiftly and knocked her hand away hard from his arm, gripping her tightly at the wrist. Next, he lunged himself at her, his other hand taking aim for her throat. She tumbled backwards, crashing onto the floor with a loud thud. He was pressed into her, holding himself slightly above her while his hands stayed clutched at her throat and wrist. A low snarl escaped his mangled lips.

He pressed his hands down against her harder for leverage to lift his upper body up from her. He glared down at her hard, his voice booming deep with anger. "_What _were you _doing_? Huh? What the _fuck _were you doing?!"

She looked up in horror at his angry face. The harsh makeup that normally covered his face was so badly smeared that you could almost see the light flesh of a normal man in places. _Almost_. His hexagonal patterned shirt was no longer tucked neatly into his purple pin-striped pants and still hung open for the first several buttons, revealing part of his chest. It was such a subtle difference, but it made him look almost vulnerable and human. Though, in reality, appearances could be deceiving and he was still deadlier than ever.

She couldn't breathe. Not only was he choking her, but he had knocked the wind straight out of her when he sent her crashing onto the floor and landed on top of her. She'd never seen anybody move that fast before. She would have been in awe if she wasn't almost positive he was about to kill her. He'd went from sleeping to a madman possessed with rage. Rage at her.

"_Answer me_!" he boomed at her, sending chills down her spine.

He sat up to straddle her and eased his fingers off her throat. He glared down at her, watching as she coughed and gasped desperately for air. _Pathetic._ He felt her hand attempt to move under his tight grasp which only made him grip even harder. He watched the look of increased pain and panic grow on her red face as she continued coughing and gasping.

He laughed and let a grin spread across his lips when he felt her other arm try to move. He quickly moved his leg and brought it down hard against her arm, holding it in place. "Ah _tatata_. I _wouldn't_, uh, wouldn't _do _that if I was _you_. Y'know, I'm still _waiting _for my _answer_. Don't you think you're being, uh, just the _teensiest _bit rude? Huh?"

She still couldn't catch her breath and her arms hurt from the force he was using against her. She could only manage to shake her head at him as she continued to try and regain her breathing.

He licked his lips, wiping the smile away and glared down at her. "Let me let you in on a little, uh, _secret_. Now, I'm only going to tell you this _once _so, ah, I'd listen _closely_. I _don't like _being _ignored_. At all."

She coughed and gasped, feeling hot tears welling in her eyes. Her voice come out raspy and choked. "I can't fucking breathe, you asshole!"

His face remained darkly serious for a moment and then a sinister grin spread across his face. He laughed for a few moments before speaking. "Now, now, _darling_. I, uh, I don't think you're _seeing _this _situation _quite so _clearly_. Let me _spell it out _for you, hm? See, I asked you a _question _and you _ignored _me. Now, I may not know _much _about _manners_, but, uh, I _believe _you were being _rude_. To _me_. I, uh, I gotta tell ya I don't _like _rude people very much. They tend to make me a little bit _angry_. And, y'see, when I'm angry I start _hurting _people. Maybe even _killing_. Y'know _what_? I'm, uh, I'm _very _angry now, _Raven_. Do you _understand _that? Hm? Do you understand _at all _what you're fucking _doing_?"

"Yes. _Please_!" she begged, still coughing and desperately trying to regain her composure. "I was… just trying to…to wake you up."

"_Wake me up_?" he laughed heavily. "Waking up is a job for, uh, _roosters_, Raven. Roosters and _alarm clocks_. Not _you_."

"No, you don't understand."

He smiled for a moment longer then tilted his head to the side; his face became deadly serious again. "I _don't_? Well, then, uh, I guess _you'll _just have to go ahead and _enlighten _me, huh? Go ahead. _Make _me _understand_."

There was no reasoning with chaos, she knew that. Still, it could be her last chance. "I wanted to let you sleep, I swear. I would never have bothered you if you hadn't needed me to. You were screaming and thrashing around. I've never seen anyone react like that to a dream. I just, I thought I…"

_That dream. That fucking dream. _He glared down at her. "Mm, you thought _wrong_. Haven't you ever _heard _that _expression_? Hm? Let _sleeping dogs _lie? Well, uh, now you _know why_."

He moved off of her and walked over to the window, his ankle less tender, and ran a hand through his tangled mess of green curls. He paused to tuck his shirt down into his pants with a sigh. He bit down on the scars inside his cheeks, working his jaw. He reached out with one arm to move the old, thick drapes slightly and peered out the window. He immediately regretted it. He squinted as the bright afternoon sun poured in against his face. He grunted in distaste and let the drapes cover the window again. _Fucking sun._ He'd always preferred the night. Everything was better in the darkness.

She stood up, watching him at the window. He was angry, that much was clear, but he was also bothered by something. Something bad enough, apparently, to make him thrash about in his sleep calling for someone who wasn't there. She wanted to figure out what it was.

"Can you tell me something?"

He turned his head slightly to look back at her, licking his lips and smirking. "That _depends_ on _what_ you want me to _tell_ you."

She bit at her lip for a moment, debating, and then went for it. "Who is Angel?"

He narrowed his dark eyes on her for a moment and then looked away, worrying at his scars. "_Interesting_ question, but, uh, how the hell should _I _know? Hm?"

_Liar. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was avoiding the subject like the plague. _She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but there was no turning back now, was there? "Well, for starters, you said the name in your sleep."

_Damnit. Was the dream not enough? All he wanted to do was forget. _He snuffed out a small laugh and continued keeping his eyes off of her, not wanting to look at her. "Dreamers often say the _craziest_ things, _don't_ they?"

She nodded even though he wasn't looking and took a deep, shuddered breath. _He wasn't the only one in this room that knew how to push buttons._ "Yes, well, that may be true, but then there's that newspaper clipping you have laying on the floor. Do dreamers also keep old photographs of women on their bedroom floors?"

He turned around now, his face full of rage. "Tell me, _Raven_, does a _dove_ still _coo_ with it's fucking _head cut off_? Hm?"

_Ah, she'd pushed the right button_. "You can kill me, but killing me doesn't exactly answer why you're crying out for someone who's not there in your sleep, does it? You know as well as I do that killing me won't solve any of your problems."

He smiled at her darkly and slowly started walking towards her, stalking her. She didn't dare move. She only stared at him. When he reached her he brought his hand up to her cheek and dug his nails into her skin. He couldn't help letting a laugh escape when he saw the look of shocked pain cross her face.

He ran his tongue along his lips and tilted her head up to look at him. "Can you, uh, can you _see_ me _looking_ at you right now? Hm?"

Her voice came out soft and low, almost a whisper. "Yes."

"And did you have your _eyes open _last night, _Raven_?"

She nodded against his rough hand clawing into her tender cheek.

He nodded back at her and raised his eyebrows, pausing to run his tongue along his lips again before continuing. "Then you saw that _building_ and those, uh, those _ferries_ go up in _flames_, right?" He placed his other hand against her other cheek, patting her roughly as he talked. "Do you _understand _how_ many _people _died_ last night? _Do you_? Do you, uh, do you _realize_ that I _don't mourn_ the _deaths_ of _any_ of those people? I've, uh, I've _killed_ a lot of people and, uh, _not one _of their _lives_ means _anything_ to _me_. No _remorse_. No, uh, _guilt_. _Nothing_. I simply _don't care_. About _anyone_. Or, ah, or _anything_. Can you _see_ that? Hm? Because if you _can't_ then, uh, then I'd _wager_ you just _might_ be fucking _blind_ after all, _Raven_."

There was no denying that she completely understood that's how he felt. He was a killer without a conscious for anything he did. That much was obvious to anyone who took one look at him and what he did. What she couldn't explain, or understand for that matter, was that picture and how he'd called out the name Angel with such urgency and emotion in his sleep. Why would a man so ruthless and devoid of any ability to care be carrying around a worn picture of a woman and coincidentally calling for a woman in his sleep? It just didn't add up. She didn't believe the mask this time. Like his worn makeup barely covering his face, she could see through his carefully placed words to something hidden deep underneath. It just required a little more smudging.

"No, I can see that. I know you don't care about anyone who was on those ferries or in that building. I get that."

He half smiled as he patted her cheek a few more times. "_Congratulations_, Raven. You're, uh, you're _not_ blind!"

She swallowed hard, looking deep into his dark eyes, probing him. "But that doesn't explain why you have a picture of a woman lying on your bedroom floor and then just happen to call out the name of a woman who isn't here in your sleep."

He narrowed his eyes on her, nodding, and paused for a moment before shoving her roughly to the floor. He licked his lips and turned away from her. He walked over to where his purple trench coat lay in a heap on the chair and glanced down at the old worn carpet. Lying on the floor next to the chair was the worn newspaper clipping of Angel.

"_My plan was to be whatever __**you**__ needed me to be, Jack."_

"_What if…What if I need you to be __**dead**__?"_

"_Jack, just…Just tell me that that __**kiss**__…That it meant __**nothing**__ to you and I'll stop fighting." _

"_Angel, I...I __**can't**__."_

"_That's all I needed to hear, but you're not going to let me go are you? You aren't going to give this up."_

"_It's…It's too __**late**__, Angel. __**It's too fucking late**__. I…"_

He let out a low frustrated growl, running a hand roughly through his tangled curls. He knelt down and picked the coat and picture up, placing the picture back inside his coat pocket where it belonged; tucked away and out of sight. He searched another pocket and pulled out his favorite knife, dropping the coat back on the floor. He turned back towards Raven where she sat on the ground looking up at him with wide eyes.

He smiled at her and licked his lips while he flicked the blade of his knife out, waving it at her. "But, uh, you _are_ pretty _stupid_ aren't you?"

She didn't say a word. She simply stared up at him as he waved his knife in her direction. She swallowed hard, not knowing what he was going to do next.

"Tell me, _Raven_, what, uh, _what_ would _possess_ you to look through _my_ coat when I'm _sleeping_? Hm?"

She dug her fingers into the old, worn carpet underneath her. "I didn't."

He raised his eyebrows in a mock expression of shock. "_No_? Well, then _how'd_ you find the _picture_ exactly, Raven? Hm?"

"It must have fallen out when you took your coat off. It was just laying there. I didn't touch anything."

He walked over to her and knelt down, placing the blade of his knife under her chin with pressure. She got the signal and stood up slowly with the blade still pressed under her chin. He clenched his jaw for a moment, staring her down and then let his tongue snake out along his lips before finally breaking the silence between them.

"How, ah, how _convenient_. What makes you think the picture _means_ anything to me? Hm?"

She swallowed hard, feeling the blade still pressed against her throat. Her body was locked and tense. She was afraid that any movement would mean her demise. "That story you told me last night about the woman that tried to help you. You said she wound up dead. When I saw the picture I thought maybe she might be the woman you were speaking of. Then, when you said the name Angel in your sleep, well, I put two and two together and I thought maybe…"

He was tired of hearing her talk. Tired of being forced to think about things he didn't want to think about. Tired of her being _right_. He was so angry with her he didn't know what to do, so he just gripped her by the throat and threw her against the wall, holding her there. He stuck the blade inside of her mouth, laying it slack against the edge of her lip and the inside of her cheek. All it would take was one simple flick of his wrist and she'd be lying on the floor bleeding all over his carpet. _A little color might do the room some good._

"Well, I'm, uh, I'm _impressed_, _Scooby_. However did you figure _that_ one out without the rest of the _gang_, hm?" He smiled darkly at her as she stared at him with wide, frightened eyes. He heard small moan escape her lips. "Oh sh, shh, _shhh_. _Don't talk_. Not in your _best interest _right now. How about _I_ do the talking, hm?"

She let another small moan escape her lips. She could feel the sweat starting to form on her forehead even though her whole body felt as cold as ice. She was more frightened now than ever, but part of her was on pins and needles just waiting to see if he would tell her the truth. She wanted to hear a real explanation from him for once. She wanted to see him remove those last little bits of that mask he wore so well and reveal himself to her.

He looked at her for a moment, not moving. He could see in her eyes that she was waiting for him to tell her everything. _Well, it just wasn't that easy now was it? _He turned her around, facing the wall, with the blade still in her mouth. He took a deep breath and licked his lips before breaking the silence.

"You're expecting me to tell you _all about her_ right now aren't you? You're just waiting with baited breath for me to either, uh, _kill _you or sit down and tell you some sort of_ all revealing sob story_. So, tell me, Raven, which is it gonna be? Huh? What am I going to_ do_ to you?"

She felt the knife slowly slide out of her mouth. She breathed a shuddered sigh of relief and licked her lips. She could hear his steady breathing right behind her. He wasn't moving. He was waiting for her to answer.

"I think," she paused to swallow, her throat unbearably dry. "I think you aren't going to do either."

She waited for his answer, the room so quiet in anticipation. She tried to silence her breathing so that she could hear whatever he was going to do. When he placed his hand on the back of her head she almost jumped right out of her own skin and out the roof.

He moved his lips to her ear, whispering. "You're _right_."

Before she could respond he sent her head flying into the wall at full force. He watched her drop to the floor, unconscious, and he smiled. He licked his lips and ran his hands through his hair. He stepped over her and grabbed his coat, vest, and tie and walked to his bathroom. He shut the door behind him and stared into the mirror at his reflection. His make up had worn off like it always did when he slept; revealing parts of his face. He touched the bare, warm skin for a moment and cringed. That skin wasn't him. It was _Jack_, not the Joker. _Time to trade up. _He grabbed his make up and went to work in a frenzied blur; smearing his make up back on where it belonged. When he finished smudging the last bit of bright red over his scars, he looked back up at himself in the mirror and smiled this time. _Much better_. He was himself again and the shadows of his past stayed hidden away in his coat where they belonged.

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-**AUTHOR'S NOTE**-

-First off, I want to apologize for taking so long to update. I could sit here and give you excuses all day for it, but that just doesn't seem right. I'm sorry. : ( Though, sometimes getting engaged does tend to distract a woman from her work and turn her into a happy, bride-to-be looking into all kinds of wedding things. ;)

Second, I hope the wait was worth it. I know this isn't the biggest of chapters or the most exciting of chapters, but I put a lot of work into a lot of little subtle details of this chapter. Trust me they do matter. So, I hope anyone who is still reading this enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Again, like I've said please remember that this is a sequel to my story **Angel. **You don' have to have read it to understand this story as everything will connect and make sense in the end, but those of you who have read it, I hope you're liking this one too : )

As always, thank you SO MUCH to any new/old subscribers, readers, etc. I am honored that you have taken interest in my story enough to read it. You're all the best! Seriously. Also thank you to any reviewers! I appreciate every single bit of feedback I get and reviews are the best!

Lastly, I want to thank **HoistTheColours **and** XDavien**. HTC, what can I say about you other than you are made of awesome and I cannot thank you enough for all the support and kindness you have shown me. I am extremely lucky to have you as a reader. You know how to make me feel like my work is appreciated and good. It means a lot to me. XDavien, I know you probably won't read this, but thank you so much for your understanding and kindness. You inspired me to really get back to work on this through working on your story with you. You guys are the best! *hugs*

Hope to be back soon with another update! Thanks for reading!


	6. Darkness there, and nothing more

The Joker slammed the door behind him, locking it for good measure. He was fairly certain it would be a while before Raven would be gracing him with her consciousness again, but he wasn't one to take unnecessary chances. He would figure out what to do with her later, right now he needed to think and he needed to do it alone.

Sitting down on the ratty, faded blue couch he turned the television on. He was curious to see what they were saying about his fireworks display last night. He narrowed his eyes on the TV when he saw the remains of the Pruitt Building flash up on the screen of GCN. He turned the volume up, a large red painted mangled grin spreading across his face.

"It is estimated that the death toll from the explosions is over five hundred. This is a devastating loss for Gotham and we are about to go live to a press conference where police Commissioner Jim Gordon is about to give a statement."

He leaned back into the couch and propped his legs up on the broken coffee table in front of him. This was going to be good. He watched as Gordon stepped up to the podium, flashes of light from cameras going off all around him. The man adjusted his black plastic framed glasses and cleared his throat, stepping up to the microphone.

"Good afternoon. It is with great sadness that I stand here addressing you today. Despite our best efforts to contain the situation it appears as though the criminal known as The Joker was behind the explosions of both the ferries and the Pruitt Building. A lot of lives have been lost and we are here to assure you that we're going to make sure it ends here. No more."

Gordon's hands gripped the sides of the podium, his eyes searching over the crowd and then falling back to the camera. "It is also with great sadness that I must announce to you one of the lives lost in last night's tragedy was Gotham's own DA, Harvey Dent."

The crowd grew silent after a few gasps of shock. The Joker moved his feet off of the coffee table and leaned forward on the couch. His eyes narrowed on the screen again. _He_ hadn't killed Dent, he'd set him free and turned him against everything he had once stood for. Dent hadn't been in the building. So _who_ was responsible for the death of Gotham's White Knight?

"Losing Dent and the citizens who perished in the explosions last night is a great loss for our city, but I assure you this is not the end of Gotham. We are working vigilantly to find The Joker, and we _will_ find him. Until then, I am taking care of Gotham's other problem - the Batman. Since his arrival, our city has seen too much destruction and he has made it clear that he cannot be trusted. Official policy from this day forward is to arrest the vigilante known as Batman on site. The Batman has proved he is not a friend of the city, but an enemy that must be stopped."

A deep laughter started to escape from his lips. So, it hadn't worked exactly how he had wanted it to, but things were falling in place. Gotham was turning its back on Batman and without Dent around, the city may just turn on itself. _Chaos. Beautiful chaos._ He took note of the date for Dent's memorial and shut off the TV. Today was certainly a good news day.

After a few minutes of sitting on the couch lost in thought, the Joker ran a hand through his mess of green tinged curls and stood up. His ankle was still tender, but he didn't really care. He reached inside his coat and pulled out a flip cell phone. He opened the phone and quickly punched in a series of numbers and placed the phone to his ear, waiting for the person to pick up.

"I need you to, uh, get down here. _Now_," he ordered when the person on the other line had finally picked up after a few rings. He didn't wait for an answer, he flipped the phone shut and placed it back into his coat.

He walked to the dining room where there was a large table littered with papers, photos, pens, markers, magazines, photos, and newspapers; among other things. He reached above him and turned the light on. Licking his lips he got to work searching through the junk on the table for what he needed. When he found it he smiled and was folding the paper to put into his coat when he heard a knock from upstairs. He reached up to turn the light off again and walked swiftly out of the room, up the stairs, and down the narrow hallway.

Before unlocking the door, the Joker cleared his throat and raised his voice in pitch to mimic a woman's. "Who is it?"

"It's me, boss."

He quickly unlocked the door and reached out to grab the scrawny, dark haired man by the black jacket he was wearing and pulled him into the hallway. When he let go of the man he stumbled backwards and fell onto his butt. The Joker growled with annoyance as he turned and locked the door.

"Get _up_," he barked, glaring down at the man. "I've got _work_ to do and, uh, I need you to do something for me. Think you can, uh, _handle_ that?"

The man nodded at him, scrambling to get up off the floor and brush himself off. "Y-yes, boss."

The Joker grinned, reaching into one of pockets and pulling out a key. He turned and stuck the key into his bedroom door and turned back to the man. "Good. I, uh, I need to go in here and look after my, uh, _unexpected visitor_. She's, uh, she's probably going to be asleep for a _while_, but, uh, if she happens to _wake up _you, uh, you _don't_ let her out of this _room_. She stays _here_ and you, ah, you _don't touch her_. I'll, uh, I'll _know_ if you do. She's, ah, she's _mine_ and I'll _take care _of her when I get back. Understood?"

The man nodded. "Got it, boss. She won't be going anywhere and I-I won't t-touch her."

The Joker opened the door and walked into the room, motioning for the man to follow him in. He stopped dead in his steps. Raven was gone. The room was exactly the way he had left it, but there were no traces of her. He walked forward to the window, pulling the curtain aside, and saw the window was still closed. He peered out the window, his head swimming in confusion and anger, and couldn't see her.

"B-boss? I d-don't see anyone. What happened? W-where is she?" The man spoke from behind him.

He stiffened and turned towards the other man, closing the distance between them in a few steps. His dark eyes were narrowed on the cowardly man's eyes and he could smell the fear coming off him. It would be so simple for him to kill him right now and he wouldn't feel an ounce of remorse. It would be easy to replace him. That was the thing about most people, they were highly expendable.

"That's, uh, that's a good question," his voice was dark, and eerily calm. "Looks like I'll have to go and, uh, find her."

The Joker was already at the door in the hallway, unlocking it, when the man came out into the hallway after him. "W-what should I do?"

Opening the door, he turned to the man, narrowing his eyes on him. "You stay here. In case she, uh, _comes back_. If she _does_ you, uh, you _call_ me and you _wait_ for me. I want the _pleasure_ of, uh, _killing_ her myself."

The Joker slammed the door behind him and started off down the metal fire escape stairs. His eyes were looking all around him to see if he could spot Raven anywhere. She couldn't have gotten far. He didn't know how she'd gotten out in the first place. He would find her, though. He would find her and he would kill her. Nobody got away from the Joker and lived to tell about it.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE- **First off, I am SO sorry it took so long to update this! Thank you so much to those of you that have stayed around and waited for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. A huge thank you to all my readers. All of your encouragement and support is part of what makes writing that much more rewarding. Again, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

To anyone reading my other alternate sequel - "I'd Rather See You Dead" - I will have an update on that by Monday 11/22/2010 at the latest.

As for this story we have a few more chapters to go and I actually have a huge chunk of the end written so updates should be coming a lot more frequently now so I hope you'll stay around till the end. : )

Also, the title of this chapter is a quote from the great Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. I think it fit quite well among it's other similarities and connections as the chapter title.

As always remember my DISCLAIMER that I don't own any of this (except Raven and Angel) nor do I profit from it. Strictly writing for entertainment value and fun here, folks.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I hope to have another one up as soon as possible. Thank you to all readers, reviewers, and those who have added this to their favorite stories or even story alerts. You guys are the best and I hope you liked this chapter and I hope that you continue to like it to the end. : )

A special thanks to my friend Korrie for helping with some editing on this chapter. To HoistTheColours for her awesome support during the making of most of this story. To my fiance for helping me develop the plot and ending of this story. And to XDavien for her awesome friendship and continued support for me to keep on writing - you're the best and I'm glad to have a friend like you!

Sincerely,

foxotr


	7. Burial

He had spent a couple of hours searching the area for Raven. She didn't seem that athletic or smart to him so he had thought finding her wouldn't be a problem. There was no way she could have called a cab or for help, he hadn't seen a cell phone on her, and there weren't that many places for her to hide. Not from him. He didn't think she could run fast enough to get out of this forgotten area either. If she had wanted to escape like this then why did she bother following him home in the first place? What kind of twisted game was she playing with him?

The first place The Joker had checked was the car they had come home in. He had to give her credit enough to think to use it as her get away, but the car sat in the same spot it had been in since he parked it. Wherever she was, he knew she couldn't be far. He would find her and he would quickly delight in killing her. _Come out, come out, wherever you are…_

As he continued searching around for her, his mind was filled with images of Raven - the light leaving her eyes as he kills her. He wanted to kill her so badly now that his fingers twitched and itched for his knives; hell even a gun would do. How dare she think she could get away from him? Who did she think she was? Nobody. She was nobody.

He was so angry he could hardly think of anything, but her death. He should have killed her when he had the chance. Why did he let her live? Now she was gone and with that everything he was planning now was at jeopardy. She could go to the cops and they'd come here for him. What if she'd already gone to them? No. He wouldn't let her ruin his plan. He _needed_ this. Nobody was going to stop him.

The Joker made his way quickly back to the old house he had been calling home. With the sun setting behind him, he quickly climbed the metal fire escape. When he was at the door, he pounded on it roughly, absently biting the scars on the insides of his cheeks.

"B-boss?" Schiff's voice squeaked from the other side of the door. "Th-that you?"

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "No, it's _Santy Claus_ here with a big bag full of _goodies_ just for you."

As soon as the door clicked open he shoved it open all the way, knocking Schiff back into the wall. He slammed the door behind him and set off quickly for his bedroom. He grabbed an empty duffle bag and headed for the bathroom, throwing things haphazardly into the bag as he walked. When he came out of the bathroom, Schiff stood in the doorway of his bedroom, rubbing his forehead.

"D-did you f-find her? What's going on?"

The Joker threw a few more things into his bag and zipped it up. He grinned as he looked at Schiff who was still confused. "Don't, uh, don't need to _worry_ about _her_. She's as good as _dead_ wherever she is. But, ah, I _can't_ stay here. Not _safe_."

Schiff nodded. "Ok, so where are you going to go now, b-boss?"

He pulled the strap of his bag over his shoulder and walked quickly across the room to Schiff. He roughly turned him around and started pushing him towards the door to the fire escape. "_That's_ where you come into the big plan, _Schiffy_. I, ah, I do hope you've got _somewhere_ to live because I'll need to stay with you for a few days. Y'know, just to lie low for a couple of days until dear old Harvey Dent's memorial on Friday."

Schiff swallowed the bile that had risen in his throat back as he remembered his brief time that night with Harvey Dent. "You're g-going to his f-funeral?"

The Joker opened the door and shoved Schiff out in front of him. "Not exactly. But, ah, what kind of horrible _monster_ would I be if I didn't make some sort of an _appearance_, hm? I can't let Gotham down at a time like _this, _can I?"

* * *

Friday morning was a cloudy, cool day. Today was the day the survivors of Gotham would come together to mourn the loss of so many of its citizens as well as their former district attorney, Harvey Dent. Gotham had seen hope in him that they hadn't seen for years and had trusted him. It looked like their long since fallen city was finally about to rise above the crime, devastation, and corruption. Dent had proved himself to them by single-handedly managing to lock up over half of the mob in one fell swoop. Something even the police had failed to do for years. Even their own mysterious so-called vigilante Batman had failed at this.

The security and hope they gained hadn't lasted long. All it took was one man; one deranged clown with a crimson grin to bring Gotham screaming to its knees and begging for mercy. People were dying; some of them highly ranked public officials. Gotham was scared and they clung to the only person they thought could save them - Harvey Dent. They clung to him with their last hopes and breaths, while they turned a hateful, blaming finger at The Batman. Gotham didn't need a vigilante running around when it had a figure like Harvey Dent to trust. Besides, perhaps it was The Batman's fault in the first place that The Joker was even doing this.

It seemed simple enough. All The Joker seemed to ask for was for The Batman to reveal himself to him. All he had to do was take off his mask and Gotham could be rid of the psychotic clown. Their lives and safety had to mean more to him than hiding behind a mask. The citizens of Gotham pleaded for him to surrender himself and surrender himself he did. Gotham took another blow when Harvey Dent, their White Knight, had turned himself in as The Batman. Now what?

Of course, it had been a ruse. Harvey Dent, despite the views of the citizens of Gotham, believed in Batman being what they needed to defeat The Joker. He had turned himself in as Batman, blindly hoping the real Batman would come through. He did come through, but as a direct result even more people died at the hands of The Joker. He had even succeeded in nearly killing Harvey.

That became the final straw. The Joker had all but extinguished the flame in Gotham. The citizens were sent into chaos and panic again as they watched him blow up an entire hospital. They had nothing left to cling to in the darkness. As a final insult, thanks to The Batman, The Joker succeeded in killing at least five-hundred of its citizens and their last hope was dead.

Today those who still remained in Gotham would gather, whether in person or from the semi-safety of their own homes. They would join together in laying to rest Harvey Dent and in laying him to rest they would bury their hopes and dreams. They'd lost so much and there was nothing left to believe in; no hope to cling to. They would mourn for Harvey, for their loved ones, and for their city. All of this while knowing he was still out there. This wasn't the end. The Joker was still out there somewhere and any living person left in Gotham wasn't safe.

Straightening his tie, Jim Gordon glanced at the sullen faces of the crowd. Walking to the podium his eyes caught the enlarged picture of smiling Harvey Dent. He had believed in Dent along with the rest of Gotham, but The Joker had won in the end. He got to Dent and turned him into what he wasn't - a vengeful murderer. He'd seen it with his own eyes, but it was something the citizens of Gotham would never know. They couldn't. Even with him dead, they still needed to believe in the good and hope that he stood for. Even if this meant condemning the one man who was out there every night fighting to save Gotham; Batman.

He reached the podium and pulled out the wrinkled paper that he had scrawled his speech for today on and laid it out in front of him. He adjusted his black framed glasses and looked out at the crowd and cameras facing him.

"Harvey Dent was many things. He was a good district attorney, a good friend to many, and he was… a hero. Not the hero we deserved - the hero we needed. Nothing less than a knight. Shining…"

The audio to Gordon's microphone cut off and a high-pitched squeal was heard before a deep, loud laughter echoed from the speakers. Gordon watched as the faces of the crowd turned ghostly pale as sharp gasps escaped some of their mouths. _No, damnit. Not now. Not today._

"Such a _lovely_ speech, _Commissioner_. But, ah, _not true_. Y'see Dent wasn't what you people _thought_ he was. In the _end_, y'see, he was, ha, he was quite _two-faced_. And look at you all _mourning_ him like he was some kind of _saint_. How very, hm, _pathetic_."

Panic was starting to set in. People were starting to push each other, trying to get away. Screams were ringing out as Gordon and the rest of the police tried to take control of the situation.

Bruce Wayne sat in his chair, his fingers curled tightly around the sides of it. It was taking every bit of restraint for him to sit there and listen to the voice coming out of the speakers. He wanted desperately to get out of here as fast as possible and suit up. As Bruce Wayne he was useless, but as Batman he could do something to help. He could track The Joker down. He could end this. But he couldn't leave. Not yet.

The Joker's deep laughter echoed from the speakers again. "Now, now. _Calm down_. There's, ah, there's no need to_ panic_. Not _yet_. See, I have a little bit of, uh, _unfinished business _tobtake care of with _Batman_. Now, all I ask is that, ah, he meets me at _midnight tonight _inside of the old warehouse by the west docks. _Alone_. Simple, isn't it?"

Bruce's eyes went from the panicked crowd as they stopped to listen and fell on the speakers. He clenched his jaw tight and swallowed, preparing himself for what came next.

"Now, if, ah, if Batman doesn't want to come out and _play_ then I'm sorry to say that things get a _little tricky _for the fine people of Gotham. See, if, uh, if Batman doesn't show up by midnight… then every minute that goes by I will blow something up. I'm ready tonight to send this whole city into a fiery grave _piece by piece_. And, uh, I've already got it all set up so if I was you… well, I wouldn't try _leaving_. My fingers might _accidentally_ start triggering things early if you do. See, we're _all_ in this _together_, Gotham. Every last one of you, The Batman, and me. We're in this together _until the very end_. And that end is now up to all of you and, uh, most importantly Batman.

So, I believe that _concludes_ everything that _I_ have to say. May, uh, Harvey Dent rest in peace. As for the _rest_ of you? Have a _good_ day. Remember to _laugh_. It may be your _last_. And, uh, Batman? I'll see _you_ at midnight or I'll see you in _hell_."

The screams and panic grew louder as Bruce stood, his yes still on the speakers. Another round of bone chilling laughter echoed from the speakers before the audio cut out again. He turned his head to see Gordon, sweat beads on his forehead, doing his best to calm the crowds with the rest of the police. It was in vain. The Joker had pulled the last thread that was holding Gotham together today. He was surrounded by pure chaos, hopelessness, and insanity.

He made his way through the crowds, gliding and pushing through them like an empty ghost. He had to get out of here. He had to take his true form. He had to be Batman. As Batman he was Gotham's last hope at putting the pieces back together. He was all that stood between the end of everything and The Joker. It all ended tonight; one way or another.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES - **

Yeah, wow. I could sit here and make excuse after excuse for what took so long to update this story, but I don't want to bore you all with all the details. I'll just apologize for taking so long to update.

Thank you to all of you who are still reading, have read, and are maybe just now reading. I appreciate all of you. Whether you're reviewing or not - I'm just glad you're reading (especially after my hiatus). I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I can promise you it won't take too long to get the next chapter posted. I know this because I have a good portion of the next chapter already finished. : ) And other than an epilogue this next chapter will be the end of this story. And it's an end that I know should have come a long time ago, but sometimes life has a funny way of throwing you curve balls and then when life isn't throwing you punches, well, sometimes other ideas creep on you and demand to be written. But I finish everything. I promise.

Thanks again for reading and hope you enjoyed!

Much Love,  
foxotr


	8. Quoth the Raven, Nevermore!

Midnight couldn't come soon enough. Bruce had followed The Joker's directions. He hadn't attempted anything before the time he had specified. The citizens of Gotham also hadn't tried to leave, as much as they wanted to. The police had their hands full all day long, controlling the panic and riots that had broken out. Bruce knew that all of Gotham had now placed their trust in him; in Batman.

When he arrived at the warehouse, it was very quiet. He was focused, but at the same time his adrenaline was so high that he could hear his own pulse quickening. He had no idea what The Joker had in store for him when he entered this building. Knowing him, it could be anything, but it definitely wasn't good. He took a deep breath and walked to the doors of the warehouse. The doors were unlocked and he simply pushed them and stepped inside.

The inside of the warehouse was completely dark and eerily quiet. He walked in further, listening closely for any signs of The Joker. He turned sharply when he heard the doors slam shut behind him.

"Enough with the games, Joker." His deep voice broke the silence in the room.

"_Games_?" A single light bulb flashed on, revealing The Joker with a bomb strapped around himself, detonator attached. The room around them was filled with drums of gasoline. "I haven't even _begun_ to play."

Batman's eyes narrowed on The Joker as he walked towards him. So, that's how he was going to play. He knew the only way to stop him from hurting him or killing him was to rig himself and the entire building around them. One wrong move and he could send them both to their deaths along with the rest of Gotham.

"What is this about? What do you want, Joker?"

The Joker licked his lips and grinned. "I just wanted to have a little _chat_ with you. Isn't that what, ah, _friends_ do? Hm? I mean, we're, uh, we're kind of like old friends aren't we?"

"Not hardly."

The grin disappeared from his face. "I'm _hurt_. Thought we were closer than that. What's the harm in a guy getting together with his old _pal_ to have a little chat?"

"You've got a bomb strapped to yourself."

He looked down at himself, a smile playing across his lips, then brought his eyes back up to Batman's, nodding. "So I do. Thought it would, uh, _liven_ our little party up. Wanted to make sure I had your _undivided attention_."

Batman's expression did not change. He stared ahead at The Joker. "I'm listening."

"Do you want to know how I got these scars? Hm?" He stared the Batman down, not pointing to the scars on his face this time.

He glared back at the psychotic man standing next to him. He could feel the anger coursing through him. He wanted nothing more than to reach out, cross the line he'd made for himself, and snap The Joker's neck just to be done with it all. But he couldn't. He couldn't cross that line. Once he did, he could never come back. He had to play by his rules. "Why? You're never going to tell the true story, are you, Joker? It's just your way of getting to people who are scared of you or frightened by the scars on your face. They wait with baited breath hoping you're going to tell them some sort of story about a time in your life when you were normal; a genuine human being that they could maybe relate to and not a deranged freak. But you never tell them the truth, do you? You spit more lies, lulling them into believing that maybe, just _maybe_ there's a good guy under there who isn't going to kill them. Your own sick version of a bedtime fairy tale. But that's the joke right? It's always your best joke. Because you were never normal. And those scars? They're just a part of you that I'm sure meant nothing. You're not fooling me, Joker. You're not fooling anyone. Not anymore."

He kept his eyes on The Batman the whole time, grinning at him and nodding as he continued to talk. He took his coat off and dropped it to the floor. He ran his gloved hand through his hair and he cleared his throat while he started to roll the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. "Mmmhmm. You might have a _bit_ of a point there, Bats. I'll, uh, I'll give you that much. But, uh, I wasn't talking about _those_ scars. I also wasn't planning on telling you any of _those_ stories. What would the _point_ be, right? You've, uh, you've _obviously_ got me and everything else figured out. No, and you, uh, you _might_ be wrong about one thing. I _do_ have scars, Batsy, and, uh, they _do_ mean something…_to me_. And you know what? I think it's time I, uh, _come clean _to you. I'm going to tell you _exactly_ how I got these fucking scars."

He snuffed out a laugh and glared even harder at The Joker. "No, you're not. You're going to tell me another lie. Another twisted little made up tale you've conjured up that will have some kind of underlying significance to me. Then you're going to snap and you're going to take down both of us along with all of Gotham."

He gave The Batman a half grin and looked down at the bomb and detonator he had strapped to himself around his waist. He looked back up at him and the smile was gone, his eyes dark and full of hate and anger. "Y'know, your, ah, your lack of _faith_ in me is hurtful, Bats. I _may_ kill us both, but you, uh, you can _bet_ that I'm _not_ going to do it until you know the _truth_. Not until I can watch the look in your eyes when you _know_."

He balled his hand into a fist and then raised his arm, pointing his finger at The Joker and took a firm step forward. "I'm through with your games, Joker. There is nothing about you that is true."

He narrowed his eyes on the bat and threw one gloved hand up motioning for him to stop. His other hand hovered gently over the detonator. "Ahtatata. Simon didn't say _move_, did he?"

Batman glared at The Joker and dropped his arm. He stood still in his position and waited for The Joker to make his next move.

He waited a moment and then dropped both of his hands, taking another step towards The Batman. He licked his lips and glared into his eyes. "I'm going to ask you _one more time_. I give you my, uh, my _word_ that I'm telling you the truth. Do you want to know how I got these _scars_?"

Batman grimaced in anger. "What does this have to do with anything, Joker? This has…"

The Joker balled his gloved hands into fists and his voice was so loud it made even the hairs on his own arm stand up. "_Everything_! This has everything to do with everything! Don't you _get_ it?"

"What is there to get? You've been planning something big enough to take down all of Gotham and that's why I'm here. Because I won't let you do it."

He started laughing wildly now. "You think I want _them_? Ha ha ha ha he he ha ha. No. I don't want _anyone_ in Gotham except _you_, Bats. It's, uh, it's _your_ blood I want this time. _Not theirs_. See, I'm done pushing your buttons. I'm done playing games. This time I want you and only you. But, uh, if you want to send Gotham crumbling down with you, well…I'm not going to stop you because _nothing_ out there means _anything_ to me."

Batman stared at The Joker. He truly was insane. He had everyone in Gotham, including him, believing that he was up to something so awful it would cause the complete destruction of Gotham. This made sense because he knew that he would always defend and protect Gotham. It made sense because he had never been out for his blood, but always to strip him of everything that mattered to him. The Joker's goal had always been to watch him crumble and lose everything; to make him snap. But this? This didn't make sense. Why would he do all of this just to arrange a little heart to heart between them? Why would he now be out for his blood only?

"How did you get the scars, Joker? What is this all about?"

The Joker smiled at him. "I'm going to tell you."

Batman watched in silence as The Joker took another step towards him. His face was eerily serious and calm. His tongue snaked out along his red-painted mangled lips and he drew in a breath before speaking.

"_These_ scars? You're, uh, you're right. _Nothing_. To tell you the truth, I don't even _remember_ what happened anymore. It's, uh, it's all just such a _blur_ to me, y'know?"

He grinned briefly at The Batman and then lifted one purple gloved hand to motion over his own face and down his chest. "But _these_? Oh, I remember how I got these. _Quite clearly_."

He stared at The Joker in confusion. What was he doing? "What are you talking about? What scars?"

The grin was gone from his face now and his hand was down at his side again. He let out a heavy irritated sigh. His dark eyes fell back on The Batman's again. "There, uh, there was a _time_ in my life where maybe I _might_ have been somewhere close to a definition of _normal_; happy even. Never really was _crazy_. Never was a, uh, _monster_ either. I was just…_smart_. Ahead of the _curve_. Really good _judge of character _and, uh, had a pretty good _unique_ view on the world. I only ever acted on what I believed in, y'know? Much like…_you_. But, uh, but I _never_ believed in you or what you stood for, Bats. Never believed in a lot of people because most people aren't, uh, aren't _worth_ believing in. I believed in _one_, though, besides myself. I believed in one person and you, uh, you took care of that, Bats. You took care of _everything_ in your little, uh, _quest_ to be Gotham's hero. You…"

Batman interrupted him, his voice angry. "I never did anything, but stop you, Joker. You aren't fooling anybody. You were always a monster."

He grinned, baring his yellowed teeth and laughed darkly while he took another step towards him. His dark eyes were full of anger and still locked on The Batman's. "Wrong, Bats. _Dead. Wrong_. I wasn't a monster until _you_ made me one. You changed everything."

"I never made you anything. You made yourself, Joker. You're delusional."

He grinned, shaking his head. "No. I'm not. _I'm. Not_."

Before Batman had a chance to respond he watched as The Joker, still smiling, turned to pick up a nearby chair and threw it across the room they were in. The sound echoed around them. He readied himself for The Joker to attack him, but he never did. He let out a loud yell of anger and then started to laugh again, still looking across the room at the chair. He began to move towards the direction of the chair, but stopped and ran his hand through his mess of curls and turned back towards him. His laughter diminished and when it stopped he looked back up at him, his eyes more dark and cold than they had ever been before.

"_I'm not fucking delusional_. I see things quite clearly. And that's the _point_, Bats. You're just, uh, just too concerned with being a _hero_ to sit and look at the whole picture. You've, uh, you've turned a blind eye…on me. And, uh, that was probably a _mistake_."

"You've made it virtually impossible for me to ever ignore you. You're everywhere, causing destruction wherever you go."

He grinned, his icy eyes never leaving Batman's. "That's _interesting_. Really interesting, actually. You think _I'm_ everywhere? Well, uh, I think _you're_ everywhere. And y'know, the way _I_ see it? I've, uh, I've done my share of destruction and chaos in this town, but _you_…Well, let's just say that you've brought a lot of destruction yourself. You, uh, you ever get the _feeling_ that maybe _I'm_ not the one causing everything?"

He glared angrily back at The Joker. "You killed more than _five hundred people _in one night, Joker."

He feigned a look of shock. "_Did I_?"

"You _know_ what you did."

He nodded, slowly walking closer to The Batman, his eyes never leaving his. He stopped right in front of the bulking man and his voice came out in almost a whisper. "And, uh, _tell me_, since you're so _noble_ and _righteous_, how many people have _you _killed? Hm? How many _deaths_ have, uh, have _you_ been responsible for?"

Underneath the mask, Bruce Wayne's thoughts went to the only place they could go. Wearing the mask and being Batman could hide a lot of things, but the memories were something Bruce could never get rid of or hide from. No matter how hard he tried. The memories and the guilt would always haunt him. He thought of his parents' murders first, of course. Remembered how if he had just been brave enough to face his own fears, they never would have stepped out into that alley. Then he thought about Rachel. She was his closest friend and the only woman he had ever truly loved and he hadn't been smart enough to see through The Joker's lie. He lost everything that day.

The Joker watched as The Batman was lost deep in thought. He grinned madly at him, laughter escaping his lips. "Oh _come on_, Bats. This is an easy question."

He looked up at the madman and glared. "I'm _not_ a killer like you."

The laughing stopped and the grin was gone. The Joker was now glaring back at Batman. "_Wrong. Answer_."

"Not wrong, Joker. Sorry to disappoint you with the truth."

He shook his head and continued to glare at him. "No. Y'know, you _think_ you're so righteous and, uh, _good_. You hold yourself _above_ people like…_like me_, right? But the _joke_… the, uh, the _funny_ thing about that is you _aren't_. You aren't any better than any of the scum _mob_ or, uh, _psychos_ in Arkham. No better than all the _freaks_ you spend all of your time picking off the streets. No. _You're worse_. You're the _same_. You're a murderer and you can't even admit it."

"I'm not a murderer. I'm not like you."

The Joker started chuckling. He was practically shaking with laughter. "No, you're, uh, you're _right_ about that. You're _not_ like me. See, the difference between you and me is _simple_. I _know_ what I've done. I don't deny any murders. They were all, ah, _part of my plan_. But _you_, oh you're _really_ something, aren't you? You kill someone and you don't even _realize _what you've done. Y'know, maybe _you_ should try Arkham. I think you've got a _serious_ case of denial."

"I don't have any denial. I'm not a murderer. I don't know what you think I've done, but…"

Before Batman could finish his sentence, The Joker's screams interrupted him. "_Shut up! You're pathetic_!"

He shook his head. "No. You answer me, because I don't know. Who exactly do you think I've killed? What is this about?"

He shook his head. "Y'know, I _really_ thought you were _smarter_ than this. Think back. Not, uh, not _too_ long ago…in another warehouse. _You and me_."

Batman froze in place, his memory conjuring up exactly what it needed at that moment. He remembered. He had come to the other warehouse to save the girl from the bank; Angeline Perkins. She was bloody, confused, weak and if he didn't get her out of there Joker was going to kill her. But, he couldn't. She hadn't wanted to leave. When they had started to fight, and it all happened so fast, she jumped in front of one of his scallop blades. His aiming would have been precise to have pinned The Joker to the wall where he wanted him, but she came out of nowhere, unexpectedly. He hadn't known what to do as he watched her die in The Joker's arms. But her death wasn't his fault. No. He didn't kill.

"That was an accident…"

The Joker's laughs echoed in the room. "No. _No, it wasn't_. It wasn't an _accident_ at all. You killed her. Admit it. _You. Killed. Her_."

"No, I tried to save her…"

"And, uh, you did about as good a job at that as you have with the people of Gotham, haven't you?"

It was taking every ounce of restraint that he had not to strike back in anger. The Joker knew exactly which buttons to press and how to push them, but he couldn't let him get to him. Not now. Not with Gotham on the line. "You're the one responsible. You're the one who's done all the killing and you would have killed her too. She just died before you could."

The Joker nodded, contemplating. "_Maybe_, but, uh… I didn't get the _chance_ to _find out_. Instead _you_ killed her. _You_ crossed that line. You took her and, uh, you took that _choice_ away from me."

He shook his head. Reasoning with insanity incarnate was taking its toll on him. His patience was wearing thinner with every new word. "I tried to save her from you. The same as I'm standing here right now trying to save Gotham from you. You're a murderer. What happened to her wasn't murder. It was an accident…"

He was tired of listening to excuses. He was tired of _everything_. He could feel the anger boiling up inside him. He wanted nothing more than to kill him right where he stood. Or better yet, to take the one thing he cared about and destroy it before his very eyes. _Gotham_. Everything he'd done up until now hadn't been enough. They'd be even the moment it all came crumbling down before his eyes.

"Don't let him get away with it. You know what you have to do. You have to take him down along with Gotham."

He turned, his mouth agape, at the sound of the other voice in the room with them. How the hell had she found him? "_You_. What are you _doing_ here?"

She walked towards him, her eyes fixed on his. "I'm here to make sure you finish the job, of course."

His lips curled into a snarl, his fingers twitching. "The only _job_ I should be finishing right about now is killing _you_!"

Batman looked on, confused, as The Joker walked forward. "What's going on?"

At the sound of his voice The Joker turned his head back towards Batman. "This doesn't concern _you_, Bats. Stay out of it and we'll continue our little _chat_ when I'm through with _her_."

Alarmed, yet cautious, Batman looked around the room and back at The Joker as he turned to the emptiness around them. "Who? Who are you talking to, Joker?"

He couldn't help the laughter that escaped his lips as he looked frantically around the room. She'd done it again. He really should have killed her when he had the chance. He never should have made the mistake of letting her into his home. "Still playing your _games_ with me, _Raven_? Huh? Well, I'm, ah, I'm _tired_ of playing. I'm _not_ looking for you. No, no."

He unclipped the detonator and clutched it in his hand, laughing harder still. He swallowed hard, feeling the cool sweat bead down his painted forehead. He had her now. He had them both. "I know what to do. Y'see, it's _simple_. All I have to do is press this button and, uh, _boom_ - _we all fall down_."

Batman stepped forward, his voice raised. "Don't. Don't push that button. It won't solve anything."

"Sure it will. It'll solve _everything_. All at once. I'll be out of your hair, you'll be out of mine. Gotham will be gone and… And, uh, _she'll_ be gone."

"No. If you want to make me pay then make me pay. But the rest of Gotham, they're innocent. They had nothing to do with any of this. Let them go. Let them go and you can do what you need to with me."

The Joker quieted his laughter, and looked at Batman. _How pathetic_. He was groveling for Gotham. Why? There was nothing out there worth saving; nothing worth keeping alive.

He gripped the detonator and moved toward Batman until they were only inches apart. He licked his lips and swallowed. "I have to _admit_ your, uh, your _offer_ is tempting. _Very_ tempting."

"Don't listen to him, Joker. Push the button. Get rid of him once and for all."

He whipped around, his eyes frantically searching the room for her again. _Why was she so fucking good at hiding_?

"What are you waiting for? Make him pay. Make him suffer. Take away what matters most to him."

Still not seeing her, he let out a frustrated guttural yell. His screams echoed around them. "_No! Shut up_! It ends when _I_ say it does! It ends when _I_ push the fucking button and I'll push it when _I_ decide! _I work alone_. Nobody tells me what to do!"

Batman's voice broke the echoes. "You don't have to push the button, Joker. Nobody else has to get hurt. It's just you and me. What happened was an accident and I was the one responsible. Make me pay. Don't hurt anyone else."

He turned back to him. "_Shut up_! You're _not_ helping. We're _not _alone. She's here."

"Push the button. End this. Unless you're a coward…"

He shook his head, seething with rage as a low laugh came bubbling out of him. Beads of sweat smeared and smudged his make-up and he could feel himself beginning to tremble. _Don't crack. Keep yourself together._ "It's not. It's _not_ about you and me. It's, uh, it's _not just you and me_. Never wanted to _kill_ you. I just wanted to make you _pay_; to open your eyes and make you see the world how _I_ see it. It's _all_ a sham. It's all just… _just one big fucking joke_. And, uh, maybe I'm _tired_ of laughing now. Maybe I'm, ah, tired of trying to _explain_ things to you. Something's _gotta give_… It's gotta end _sometime_. I think that, ah… _I think tonight may be the night_."

Before Batman could reply, he lifted the detonator in his trembling hand so he could watch as the last moments of life flashed by for them. _If ya gotta go, go with a smile. _He flashed him a gruesome grin as his finger hovered over the button. He locked eyes with Batman, wanting to see the look in his eyes when it all ended.

"Jack, stop. Don't do this…"

He froze in place, feeling every last hair on his body stand up. The grin faded from his lips as he spun around looking for the voice he knew so well. She was there, just as he had remembered her, behind him. He dropped to his knees, choking back the crippling laughter that threatened to rise in him. _This is it. I'm losing it. I've really gone off the deep end now, haven't I?_

"A-_Angeline_?"

She nodded, dropping to her own knees in front of him. "It's me, Jack. Listen to me, please. Don't do this. This isn't the end. You're not finished here."

He shook his head as he did his best to choke back his laughter, gasping sharply as he did so each time. "W-what's, uh, _ha_… What's _happening_ to, ha, me? I'm, uh, ha, I'm _losing it_, aren't I?"

A smile spread across her face. "You? Lose it? No. You once told me that you weren't crazy. You're not, Jack. You never have been. You just need to let go of everything. Clear your head. Stop hiding from yourself because of me. Be you and never stop."

"I'm, ha, I'm not. _I'm not crazy_. I'm just, ha, _smarter than the average Bat_."

He watched her smile at him and what he did next he couldn't control. He wanted to reach out and touch her, maybe just one more time. He was so sure that he could. So sure that she was here; that she was real. Everything he'd been locking away for all these months, all the feelings and memories he's tried so hard to forget, were coming back to the surface. In this instant, he was facing her death again and he felt strangely at peace.

When his hand reached out for her, right before it should have touched the soft skin of her arm, he felt a strong hand clasp hard on his arm and felt the detonator tugged away from his fingers. In that instant, in the simple blink of an eye, she was gone. She was gone and Batman had him. He chose this instant to let his uncontrollable laughter flow freely from him. It felt right. It felt good to laugh; to be himself. _She was right_.

Batman worked quickly disarming and tying The Joker up. Clearly his descent into madness was over because he didn't fight back. He just continued to laugh, tears streaming down his painted face and streaking it. He tied him up securely and dragged him out of the building with him. He stopped a few blocks safely away from the building, grabbing the laughing clown by the jaw.

"Listen to me, Joker. Is this the detonator to the whole town?"

He erupted into more insane laughter. "Ha ha ha ha! _The whole town_? Ha ha ha. Oh ah ha ha. _No_, ha. _No, it's not_. And, ah ha. That's, ha, _that's_ what's so fucking _funny_ about all this, Bats."

A low growl came from Batman as he raised his voice and squeezed tighter. "Enough. Enough of your games, Joker. Tell me the truth. Now. How do I stop what you've done?"

"Push the button. Push it and, _ha_, you'll see. You'll, ha, you'll get the _joke_."

Batman dropped The Joker to the ground. "I'm not falling for your tricks. I push this button and then what? You plan to have me send all of Gotham to their death?"

"Ha ha ha. _No_. Not, ha, _not hardly_. But, _ha_, that _would_ be funny. I'll, ha, I'll have to _remember_ that one for _next time_. No, see, ha, Gotham was _never_ in danger. Not tonight, at least. I, ha, I _meant_ what I said. This wasn't about your, ha, precious Gotham. _This was about you and me_. The only thing blowing up tonight would have been _that building _and _us_."

Batman gripped the detonator in his hand. "You lied? The whole time you lied just get me to listen to you? Gotham was never in danger."

"Oh _come on_, Bats. _I had to_. Couldn't, ha, couldn't have exactly called you over for a few beers and a _clown to bat chat_, now could I? _No_. You, ha, you took my bait. _Quite well_."

Staring at The Joker, Batman slammed the detonator against the brick wall behind him, breaking it into pieces. "It's over."

"Not, ha, _not exactly_. Any minute now it'll still go off. Had to, ha, _time_ it all too. Couldn't risk your little, ha, _temper problem _ruining my plans for the night, could I?"

Sirens could be heard in the distance, drawing closer. Batman sighed, frustrated. "It doesn't matter. You were right, Joker. It ends here. It ends tonight. They're coming for you."

"Oh, ha, _I know_. I know they are, but, ha, _one question_. What about _you_, Bats? Hm? Where will _you_ go? What will you _do_ now that, ha, the _lovely_ citizens of Gotham no longer _trust_ you or _want_ you? What are you going to do now that you've admitted to breaking your little _rule _to me?"

Batman looked away from The Joker and up into the night sky. He was right. He swallowed and answered as truthfully as he could. "I did my job tonight and I told the truth. What happened was an accident and my line was never crossed. Gotham's safe for now, but I'm always going to be out there. I'm never going to stop being who I am. I'll never give up on Gotham and when they need me, I'll always be there."

"_Good_. Because I'll be _back_, you know. _This isn't over_. As long as _you're_ out there somewhere, _I'll_ be there too. _Forever_."

The police cars were pulling around the corner and approaching them fast. The last words Batman called into the night before he disappeared and the warehouse went up in flames just on time were, "_I know_."

As the cops surrounded him and started dragging him away into the night, between his laughs, the last words The Joker managed to get out while staring at the blaze were, "Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore!'"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE - **

Well, here it is. The final chapter. I can only say that I'm sorry it took this long to get out. Life has a weird way of doing that sometimes. I am indeed proud of what this story became. I was only going to have it be a stand alone one shot that just would have been the first chapter. After some thinking and a chat with my fiance, the plot and ending of this story came to be. I couldn't resist writing the story - it was something so different than I had done before and I wanted to see it come to life. So, really, I must thank him for sharing his interests and ideas with me. Without him, this story may not have ever come to life the way it has. Thank you for being not only my biggest supporter, but my inspiration as well.

Second, I thank all of the readers who stuck with this story from beginning to end or are maybe just now picking it up. Thank you for reading.

Third - a special thank you to **HoistTheColours, Feels-Like-Paradise, XDavien, hollisterchick, emopygmepuff, and SoPhIeBuFfY4EvEr** - Thank you all for your support, kindness, and above all inspiration/motivation. You guys are the best.

There will be one more very short chapter that is already finished to come in this story. Just a small epilogue.

I do hope you enjoyed this chapter, and this story. Thank you!

Yours Truly,

foxotr

(10/16/2011)

p.s. - A partial playlist will be listed in the author's note of the epilogue.

Please note - the line "Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore!'" was quoted and borrowed from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" and that this story is purely for fun, no profit.


	9. EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE

The steady echo of footsteps sounded as they walked down the long white hallway together. When they arrived at the proper room they unlocked the door and entered into a plain, darkened white room with a large one way mirror into another room. They approached the glass and looked in. Stripped of his make-up and sporting a straight jacket, The Joker sat on a couch. His mauled lips were spread into a smile and he was laughing. His mouth was moving, forming quick words over and over again. They leaned in closer, their breath quieting to hear what he was saying.

"No more. _Never again_. Can't lose myself again. _I work alone_. She's gone. They're gone. No more women. Just me. _I have to be me_."

They looked at each other for a moment before he handed the young doctor next to him a large patient portfolio. "You sure you can handle this? It's a lot and I don't want you getting in too deep…"

The young doctor smiled warmly at him, gripping the portfolio. "I think this is exactly what I need. I can handle him. Don't you worry."

He sighed. "I won't be far and security is everywhere. You be careful. He knows just how to dig deep down into your skin."

The young doctor nodded. "I'll be fine. I won't let him get to me."

He turned toward the door and looked back. "Good luck."

The young doctor smiled. "Thank you."

Turning towards another door next to the large mirror, the young doctor took a deep breath before sliding an ID card through the door handle. A loud beep went off as the door unlocked and the doctor stepped through into the room. The Joker kept his head bent down, but he had grown silent. The doctor pulled a black rolling desk chair across from The Joker and sat down.

"Hello."

The Joker looked up at the young doctor, his eyes growing wide. "And, uh, _who are you_?"

"I'm Doctor Harleen Quinzel. I'm the doctor assigned to work with you."

The Joker stared back at her. Her blonde hair was tied back into a tight, professional looking bun. A pair of glasses covered her vivid blue eyes. Though she was smiling warmly at him he could practically smell the fear and nerves radiating off of her. _Perfect. Just fucking perfect._

He threw his head back and erupted into a fit of laughter.

THE END

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE - **

This is it. The end. It's taken my forever, but it's finally here and I am so happy and proud. I do hope everyone who read enjoyed.

I obviously set this up to perhaps continue on with another story. I have loved the character of Harley Quinn since I first saw Batman: The Animated Series and would love to explore her in the Nolanverse. I just can't guarantee when I will work on this story. Just know that it is a possibility and will surface at some point.

I thank you all again for reading, reviewing, favoriting, liking...whatever. It all means the world to me to know that someone out there is enjoying or reading my work when I put so much heart, soul, and hard work into my writing.

See you soon! : )

Yours Truly,  
foxotr

This story is dedicated to - my fiance - who I love more than anything.

* * *

Arkham Can Wait Play list - Music I listened to while writing the story or reminded me of the story/characters

"Gunpowder and Gasoline (Mel Wesson Remix)"  
"Violent Mood Swings (Thread Mix)" by Stabbing Westward  
"Paint it Black" by The Rolling Stones  
Any version of "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode  
"People are Strange" by The Doors  
All of the TDK score by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard  
"Home Sweet Home/ Bittersweet Symphony" and "Hold On" by Limp Bizkit  
"Made of Scars" by Stone Sour  
"Wicked Game" by Stone Sour  
"Bookends" by Simon & Garfunkel  
"Bring Me Everyone" by Mustach  
"Where is My Mind?" by The Pixies  
"Psycho" by Puddle of Mudd  
"Picture of You" by The Cure  
"She Visits Me" and "Take Me With You" and "Lady of My Dreams" and "Here" by VAST  
"In the House - In a Heartbeat" by John Murphy (28 Days Later)  
"28 Theme" by John Murphy (28 Weeks Later)  
"Mad World" by Tears for Fears  
"Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd  
"Wish You Were Here" by Rasputina


End file.
